


Back to life

by sjst



Category: Football RPF
Genre: Coming Out, Explicit Sexual Content, M/M, Relationship(s)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-02-28
Updated: 2016-07-18
Packaged: 2018-03-15 16:53:25
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 43
Words: 73,968
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3454637
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sjst/pseuds/sjst
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Erik has a crush on one of his teammates. Will he ever get to know about Erik's feelings and will they end up being lovers?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Wondering

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Camp Dortmund](https://archiveofourown.org/works/3308144) by [GoForGoals](https://archiveofourown.org/users/GoForGoals/pseuds/GoForGoals). 



> This work is pure fiction and has no connection to real life.

Back to life

CHAPTER 1

Erik was happy. Well maybe he wasn't really happy but he was okay. At least that's what he thought about his life. What he tried to reassure to himself.  
It's not like he had anything to complain about. He went to training everyday, his teammates were friendly to him, the coach was happy with his performances and his life in general was pretty good. But still there was something missing.

Every day he came home, ate, watched movies, played games. There was not a lot of action in his life. Sometimes some of his teammates visited him but that was not very often. Most of them had girlfriends or better friends than Erik. His best friend in Dortmund was Matze. Erik was mostly happy to hang around him but he also had a girlfriend and Erik didn't want to keep Matze away from her. Matze had been trying to push Erik to have a  
girlfriend but it was easier said than done.

Yeah, maybe it would make Erik's life easier if he had a girlfriend but Erik didn't want one. Actually there was a very special someone who Erik wanted but there was no way Erik could tell that to anyone. Because, well, a gay football player was kind of out of question.

Once again Erik woke up, went trough his routine and then went to training. He sighed as he got in his car started the engine. He drove around Dortmund not in such a hurry because he had again gotten up too early. He had nothing to do so he went to bed early and then woke up early as well.

They were supposed to have a team meeting before training so he went to the hall next to the conference room. To his own surprise he wasn't the first one waiting for the meeting to begin.

Marco was sitting on the huge sofa typing something on his smartphone. He lifted his gaze when he heard Erik entering the room. Erik himself froze immediately and was nearly scared enough to run away. He knew that he and Marco were friends but still being all alone with him made him terrified.

"Oh hi Erik, what are you doing here so early?" Marco said smiling tenderly. His smile made Erik's heart flutter and there was an awkward silence for a while before Erik realized that he hadn't actually answered Marco yet.

"Good morning eh... I just woke up early and had nothing else to do so I came here. I could ask the same question from you I guess" Erik muttered embarrassed and sat on the couch opposite Marco.

"I just had a hard time sleeping" said Marco and pressed his hand on his mouth to suppress a yawn. Erik started at Marco in awe. What could possibly keep Marco from sleeping? He had a great life, his friends loved him and he pretty surely had a girlfriend who adored him.

"Love trouble?" Erik asked curiously. He hadn't heard anything about Marco's love life and he wondered if it actually was rude to ask him such a thing. Luckily Mats saved him by entering the room loudly.

"Hi guys" He said cheerfully and patted Erik on the shoulder as he sat next to him. He started to chat with Marco about some tactics and Erik tried to follow the conversation but quickly he dozed off. He was in his own thoughts still wondering what could possibly keep Marco from sleeping. The though occurred to him that his girlfriend might have kept him from sleeping all night. It wasn't that Erik was disgusted by the though it was just the fact that he wanted to be the one to keep Marco from sleeping. Or better, that Marco would keep Erik from sleeping.

When Erik had arrived to Dortmund the very first weeks he had noticed that he kept looking at Marco in a rather different way. Yes, he had known that he might have feelings for him, something stronger than just friendship. He fantasized of Marco being his lover. Every time he saw him in the locker room changing clothes, his mind went dirty and he had a hard time keeping himself together.

It wasn't only Marco's looks that had caught Erik's attention. Marco had been awfully friendly to him from the very beginning of his career at Dortmund. He had shown Erik around and then every time Erik had looked a little lost he had asked him wether he was okay or not. In Erik's mind Marco had the most beautiful smile and the most beautiful grin and laugh he had ever seen.

Erik hadn't even noticed that almost all of his teammates were already there. Matze patted him on the shoulder and laughed at him when Erik jumped in the air because he had been so in his own thoughts. The meeting was about to begin so everyone now moved towards the conference room. The meeting ended up being rather boring, they only discussed about all the normal tactical things about their next opponent but Erik listened carefully. He wanted to pay attention and to get better in the game. He was still one of the youngsters of the team and he most certainly didn't have a certain place in the starting eleven so he wanted and needed to prove himself.

"One more thing" Kloppo yelled when everybody were starting to move and stand up.

"We are going to have this barbecue in one month, all of you and your partners are invited so now I'm going to ask each and every one of you who is going to bring a partner" he informed and there was some exciting giggling in the room. He started to ask people one by one whether they were brining someone. Almost all of them did say that they were brining someone, only a few of Erik's teammates were single but then came Marco's turn and even though Erik had payed attention before now he was definitely all ears.

"No I'm not brining anyone" said Marco and lowered his gaze. Kloppo had already started to write something down on the paper but then lifted his gaze.

"Oh okay, ehh Erik what about you?" He asked and turned his head to face the young defender. Erik was in complete shock and it took him a while to get himself together.

"Me? Ehm, no I'm not brining anyone" he said quickly. It seemed that everyone in the room were still looking at Marco but to Erik's own surprise Marco was staring at Erik with wide eyes. Erik blushed and lowered his gaze quickly before anyone would notice. Kloppo continued his questioning and after that they were all sent to the locker room to chance to their training kits and then to go on the pitch.

Erik tried to concentrate on training. He had promised himself that he would process the happenings of this morning when he would get home. He had some trouble doing the exercises but he hoped that he had performed well. At least he had ran because he was completely soaked in sweat and luckily soon the training was over and the players headed for the showers. Erik tried not to overthink the fact that he was in a steamy room full of naked men. He always tried sometimes he succeeded sometimes he didn't. This was one of the harder times because he still had the image of Marco in his head. He had not been able to stop thinking about him all training and it was getting worse every second.  
He was one of the last persons to get out of the shower and when he got to the locker room he saw that Marco was hanging his head on his hand and that Schmelle and Neven were laughing their asses of next to him. Marco was handcuffed to his own locker and Schmelle was going trough his phone.

"Jesus Marco you really googled how to tell your crush that you like them? Oh my god this stuff is priceless" Schmelle continued laughing.

"Please give me back my phone" Marco begged with pleading eyes and eventually Mats gave Marco the phone back.

"Please tell us more about the Mrs. Reus you're not able to tell that you have a crush on" they kept spiking at him. Erik was feeling bad for Marco but he was awfully curious too.

"There is no Mrs. Reus and there will never be one!" Marco shouted angrily and then gathered the rest of his stuff and left. Erik wasn't sure whether he saw a single tear on his cheek. The whole locker was now in complete silence except Mats.

"Guys what the fuck was that" you can't go trough his stuff without his permission and most certainly can't handcuff him to his own locker! First thing what you will do when you see Marco the next time is apologize and promise not to ever again bring out whatever you noticed he had googled. Marco's love life is none of your business and if he wants to keep it private it's his own choice." Mats yelled and everyone obeyed. They silently were changing their clothes and leaving towards the parking lot. Erik was now more shocked than he had been all day and the phrase "there will never be a Mrs. Reus kept pounding in his head.

Erik didn't remember much of his drive home but when he had finally slumped down on his couch to wait until his brain would start functioning again to think properly his phone beeped:

"I'm coming over in 15 minutes I'm brining lunch" the message was from Matze and Erik groaned in frustration. Erik just send him an okay. Even though he wanted some time of his own right now he knew that he would have it anyways soon. It was not everyday someone wished to have lunch with him.

Matze knocked on his door and then embraced Erik softly. They ate for a while in silence and then chatted randomly about stuff about Matze's girlfriend and his family. Then Matze suddenly asked something which almost made Erik choke on his food.

"So do you think that Marco is bi or something?" He asked casually

"I eh, what do you mean?" Erik tried not to sound astounded when he answered Matze but he could see that Matze saw how his heart was beating fast.

"Well you know I was just surprised when he said that there would never be a Mrs. Reus. I mean like what could've he possibly mean with that never" Matze continued now curiously glancing at Erik. Meanwhile everything had just made sense in Erik's head. Could Marco actually be gay? Was being gay the fact that kept him from sleeping? Erik remembered about the time he had had problems sleeping because his sexual orientation and suddenly he felt like he could really believe that he might have the slightest chance with Marco. Matze coughed because he still hadn't got an answer from Erik.

"Maybe he is gay who knows" Erik said looking a little uneasy.

"Oh please a gay footballer, nah I don't think so" said Matze. Something in Erik's head made him get offended by Matze's words and he had actually planned to tell him about his orientation, and well, why not now?

"I know one" Erik said shyly.

"Really? Who are you talking about?" Asked Matze now definitely curious. Erik hadn't mentally prepared himself for this. There was a gigantic lump on his throat trying to stop him from saying the words he had never told to anyone. His palms were sweaty and he had to physically gulp before he said the words out loud.

"I'm gay Matze" he simply stated and then Matze dropped the fork he was holding in his hand on the plate with a loud bang. There was a long silence and Erik didn't know what to say or do. He just looked down on his lap and his eyes started to water. He was fearing for the worse when Matze finally spoke up.

"Seriously?" He asked his voice tender and loving, Erik didn't hear any sound of denial or  
disguisement in his voice so he dared to look up.

"Yes" Erik simply stated and then he could feel the tear rolling down his cheek.

"Erik, fuck don't cry! Matze pleaded as he came to sit to the chair next to Erik's and out his arm around Erik's trembling body. Matze smoothly moved his hand on Erik's shoulder and slowly he calmed down.

"Listen Erik it's okay really. I love you as a friend and you being gay doesn't have to change anything and it will not change anything" said Matze and Erik sighed out of relief.

"Thank you Matze. That really means a lot. It's just sometimes hard to deal with, and you're one of my best friends so I wanted to let you know" Erik stated and rubbed the tears off his face.

"Erik it means a lot to me that you told me. I understand that it must be horrible to you and from now on you can always talk to me." Said Matze and half hugged Erik. For the next few hours they talked about Erik's secret and it did make Erik feel better. Matze didn't want to leave until he was completely sure about Erik being okay and eventually Erik pushed him out of the door and finally slumped down on his couch.


	2. Surprised

 

"Erik come here" Marco said quietly. He was sitting on Erik's couch waiting for Erik to come closer. He waved his hand again but Erik was still standing still not going anywhere.

"Oh come Erik I won't bite... Hard" said Marco and it made Erik's heart skip a beat. Finally Erik moved closer to him. He sat next to Marco but Marco obviously though that Erik wasn't close enough. He pulled him right next to him so that their thighs were touching.

"Erik you can't seem to realize what you are doing to me" Marco whispered to Erik's ear and then slowly he pressed his lips on Erik's.

..

Erik groaned as he switched his position in an attempt to get closer to Marco. That's when he woke up because he fell on the floor. He quickly stood up a little confused where he was and what was going on.

"Scheiße, I'm such an idiot" he groaned when he realized that it had all been only a dream. He slowly made his way back to lay on his bed but there was no way he could catch sleep again so he just got up and went to take a cold shower. A really cold one. He had gotten hard again just because of the dream about Marco kissing him. This couldn't continue if Erik wanted to ever be able to stand next to Marco without being embarrassed.

When Erik finished showering and ate breakfast he realized to take a look of the clock. It was only 5.00 am. He had a day off today and he had no idea what was he going to do. Eventually he decided to go running to try to calm himself down and to get the image of Marco out of his head.

Erik ran downtown as fast as he could. After running with such speed he needed to rest a little bit. He slowed his pace down so he was now walking. He wasn't right in the center of Dortmund yet, he was near the suburbs where most of his teammates lived. Including Marco. He was just about to turn around and head back when he saw a man lying on the pavement not far away. Erik's instincts took the better of him an he ran to take a look of what was wrong with the guy. He approached the man and somehow he looked familiar: he had blond hair and the skinniest jeans Erik new that only one guy he knew was wearing. Oh shit.

Erik ran faster to see the mans face and he was right. It was Marco lying on the pavement terribly drunk. Erik kneeled next to him already taking it to his lap to carry him home, because nobody could see Marco in this state lying on the pavement. If the newspapers  
would find out he would be done. Kloppo would kill him.

"Marco what the fuck" Erik asked already heading towards Marco's apartment. He knew where it was located, he had been into a few team gatherings at Marco's place. Marco only mumbled something inaudible to Erik and Erik sighed. He was soon at the entrance of Marco's apartment. Then he realized that he didn't have the keys and he just hoped that Marco would have them.

"Marco where are your keys" Erik asked Marco trying to sound as clear as possible.

"In my trousers back pocket" he mumbled still super drunk and nearly passing out. Erik froze again. Was he really supposed to try to get the keys out of Marco's back pocket?! He really had no choice. As much as he tried to suppress his own desire to keep his hand on Marco's butt for a little bit longer than necessary he just had to cherish the feeling. While Erik was trying to find the keys he thought that he heard Marco purring.

"Oh my god I'm becoming crazy, you really thought that Marco would enjoy you touching him" he whispered to himself as he finally managed to get the keys out of Marco's pockets and opened the door he carried Marco to his apartment and then made his way to Marco's bedroom where he carefully let the midfielder stand on his own legs and then fall down on his own bed.

"No Erik wait help me get off my clothes first" Marco murmured as he was trying to get eye contact with Erik who was already going out of the door. Erik obeyed because well he felt sorry for the poor guy and honestly he wouldn't mind having the chance to touch the midfielders body again.

Erik carefully tried to unbutton the midfielders pants while Marco himself was emptying his pockets to the nightstand. Erik kept trying to keep himself in control while unbuttoning his pants and opening his zipper. When he was done he still had to do the hardest part which was pulling the pants down. Marco definitely wore the tightest pants Erik knew someone wore and Erik definitely had some trouble trying to pull down the pants. There was something blocking his effort and to Erik's own surprise he noticed Marco's bulge. Holy shit, Erik though. Even though he had seen Marco naked before this was something different. Watching the midfielder so close, Erik's face inches away from his impressive boner was something very different, even better than what Erik had though in his dreams. He had to use some extra force to actually get the pants down but eventually he did. He was just standing there for a while wondering what the actual fuck had just happened and then he went on to put Marco's pants on his nightstand where he had also emptied his pockets. That's were Erik saw a note that made his heart skip at least a dozen beats.

"LGBT Dortmund meeting 19:00 be there" the note said and it was written with Marco's sloppy handwriting. Erik started at the blonde who was snoring in complete awe. LGBT community meeting ?! Erik knew that that could mean only one thing: Marco definitely would never have a Mrs. Reus. And Erik couldn't have been more happy about that.

He took Marco's mobile phone and decided to call Marcel, one of Marco's best friends. He simply couldn't deal with the embarrassing situation when he would face Marco when he would finally wake up, and there was no way Erik would leave Marco alone to the condition he was currently in.

The phone beeped for a while before a man with a grumpy voice answered.

"Marco what the fuck do you want it's six am for fucks sakes"

"Eh, this isn't Marco I'm sorry. It's Erik I'm just a little worried about Marco and I was wondering if you could come to his apartment like right now" Erik tried to sound polite as he spoke.

"Erik? Is something wrong what has happened?" Marcel asked now sounding a bit scared.

"Everything is fine now, but about a half an hour ago I found him lying on the streets, he is still awfully drunk and I had to carry him home. I can't stay here for longer and I don't want to leave him alone in his condition" Erik stated

"Oh my god what has he done... Thank you for calling me Erik I'm right on my way, I'll be there in a half an hour okay?" Said Marcel at the other end of the line.

"Yes I'll wait and then I'll leave" said Erik as he hung up.

After a while Marcel was at Marco's apartment. He again thanked Erik and told him that Marco would call him as soon as he wakes up. Erik made his way to his home very fast and in complete shock, it seemed that he just had to keep waiting for Marco's phone call until he could get any answers to his numerous questions.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Second chapter is here :)  
> As always feedback is love <3  
> Following chapters will be downloaded soon


	3. Astonished

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the third one hope you'll like it :)  
> It's a little shorter than the previous ones.  
> I'll upload more chapters when I get them finished soon.  
> As always feedback is love<3

Marco groaned as he started to wake up. He had the most terrible headache he had experienced in a while and the light coming out his windows made his eyes hurt. He was definitely hangover. He tried to sleep a little more but before that he decided to go and get some painkillers from his kitchen. He reluctantly made his way towards the exit of his bedroom and stepped out.

"Mind explaining yourself?" Asked Marcel and Marco jumped three feet in the air.

"Fuck Marcel what are you doing here how did you get in?" Shouted Marco feeling scared and rather exposed standing only in his boxers when his friend was giving him a very angry look.

"We'll do you remember anything about last night?" Marcel asked him still giving him a cold look.

"I eh, no I don't" Marco admitted feeling a little ashamed desperately trying to remember details about his last night. All what he remember was going to a bar and getting drunk but after that he was lost.

"You know Erik called me this morning. About four hours ago. He told me that he had found you laying on the street and that you were utterly drunk. He had had to carry you here and then he called me because he had to go but he didn't want to leave you alone in your condition." Stated Marcel and Marco started at him with his mouth open.

"What?!" Was all Marco managed to choke out as he sat on the couch next to Marcel.

"It's true. He also told me that you had asked to undress him and that he had left you sleeping there. You might have some explaining to do for him. You know when I came in to your bedroom I saw that you had emptied your pockets on the nightstand and there was a note. I think you should go and check it out yourself" Marcel ended his speech and motioned Marco to go back to his bedroom.

Marco made his way towards his nightstand and there was the note. It was on top of all the other stuff and Erik had surely seen it.

Marco face went blank as he realized that now Erik must know. Erik knows the secret he had feared to reveal to anyone. Marco sat down on his bed and waited for himself to calm down. Marcel entered the room after a little while.

"Do you think that he saw this?" Marco asked just to be sure

"I think he did Marco, and I also think that you should call him." Said Marcel already handing him the phone. Marco took a few deep breaths before was able to call Erik but he knew that he had to explain himself and beg that Erik would not tell anyone about his not so little secret. The phone beeped a few times before Erik answered.

"Hallo" he said

"Hallo Erik, it's Marco look I wanted thank you for taking care of me. Who knows what would've happened to me if you didn't bring me home. I'll forever be grateful to you. Is there something how I could make this up to you?" Marco asked desperately waiting to hear Erik's voice again.  
"It's okay Marco anyone would've done the same" he said with a tender voice that unexpectedly made Marco's heart flutter. Then he remembered though what he needed to ask Erik.

"And listen umm, about the note, Marcel said that you had probably seen it so-"  
"Listen Marco I understand. You don't have to explain anything, I really do understand you." Said Erik emphasizing the word understand. Was there some sort of an hidden  
message that Marco didn't realize?

"But I really really want to make this up for you. Would you please let me have dinner with you? How about tomorrow?" Marco asked him waiting for his answer.

"I uh, yes sure" said Erik. Marco could almost see Erik's blush through the phone.

"Great I will see you tomorrow at training right? We'll figure out the details then" said Marco satisfied with himself.

"Alright" stated Erik sounding a bit excited if Marco read his voice correctly. After that they hung up and Marco had an unreadable expression on his face.

"So what was that all about?" Asked Marcel curiously.

"Well he agreed to have dinner with me. And he said that he understands me when I told him about the note... I wonder what did he mean with that" asked Marco looking at Marcel.

"Well maybe he is experiencing something like you" he said with a cheeky tone in his voice.

"Are you trying to tell me that Erik might be gay?" Asked Marco shocked.

"Oh please can't you see how he is undressing you with his eyes every time he see you?" Stated Marcel and then Marco's jaw dropped. Now after Marcel had said that he understood everything. Why Erik had asked him if he had love trouble. Why Erik always searched for his presence. Why Erik always got a little awkward around him. Why Erik blushed around Marco.

"Do you really think so?" Asked Marco still in awe. But he was also grinning and it caught Marcel's attention.

"Yes, and do you think that it's a good thing?" Asked Marcel cheekily.

"Well I mean Erik is a handsome guy... He is also very nice, caring, friendly... He's a great guy" Marco mused much to himself. Marcel hit his hand with his fist.

"Well good for you. Maybe you'll be able to make an impression on him. It could also be nice that you'd finally have someone and that you could get completely over Dominic." Marco sighed as he heard the name of his ex. Dominic and him went way back. They had broken up years ago but Marco still hadn't found anyone to love him after him. Maybe he would finally be able to find love with Erik.

"Well I'm having dinner with him tomorrow. But remember I can't still even be sure that he is gay" said Marco.


	4. Nervous

Marco was only trying to rest the most he could for the rest of his day off. He was excited about having dinner with Erik tomorrow much to his own shock.

He woke up refreshed and made his way to the training center. Marcel was going to drive him there and Marco was hoping that Erik would drive him home after that. The entire ride to the training center Marcel had made comments like "go get him tiger" and he had made Marco embarrassed.

Marco arrived at the training center a little bit too early for his liking but his mood changed immediately as he saw Erik there already changing to his training kit. Marco stopped near the door before he would enter the locker room just to savor the vision he had.

Erik slowly pulled his shirt off his torso and revealed his well toned abs and chest. Marco now payed a lot more attention to Erik himself. He had always thought that Erik was cute and a nice guy. They got along well and Marco would say that they were good friends. Marcel's remark that Erik might also be gay made Marco pay a lot more attention to him and Marco did notice something. He was falling for Erik hard.

Marco finally decided to enter the room. Erik raised his gaze immediately and smiled at Marco. Marco couldn't help but notice how Erik's cheeks were perfectly round and how his nose and lips were just perfect on his face.

"Hallo Erik" said Marco blushing a bit meanwhile going to his own locker.

"Hallo Marco, nice to see that you're still alive" said Erik with a chuckle.

"I wouldn't be alive without you" Marco said still smiling but with a serious undertone in his voice.

"So we're still having dinner tonight right?" Asked Erik his voice full of anticipation.

"Of course we are, but I was wondering if you could come to my place instead of going into a restaurant. I want to be alone with you and I don't want any fans to disturb our privacy. I also want to show you off my cooking skills" said Marco laughing a bit.

"That sound perfect, should I bring anything?" Asked Erik now grinning wider than ever before.

"No of course not, just bring yourself. Actually could you take me home after training and then come back a little later?" Asked Marco hoping for the young defenders answer to be what he hoped it would be.

"I can take you home and then I'll come back around 6 pm if that's okay with you?" Said Erik

"That would be more than okay I'm glad you will be coming" stated Marco. Erik just smiled at him an then the other players started arriving and soon there was happy laughter all around the room. Schmelle and Neven apologized Marco and Marco forgave them. He might have been grumpier but he was happy that tonight he would have dinner with Erik, so he just stated that it was okay and that they should just forget it.

Kloppo gave them no mercy at training and Marco was more than happy when he headed for the showers. Marco felt his muscles relax under the hot water. He was very much in his own thoughts when he heard someone starting to take a shower in the stall opposite him. Without further thinking Marco turned his gaze to see who it was. And immediately he wish that he hadn't.

He saw Erik in the shower stall opposite to Marco's. He was completely naked. Marco watched as the water ran down Erik's strong back down lower and lower finally reaching Erik's butt. The perfectly round butt cheeks were simply too much for Marco to bear and he quickly ended his shower to escape to the locker room to get changed. Erik had been so fucking hot. Marco had had an instant boner and he was going to do the best he could to cover it. He got into his boxers and then his pants just in time before Erik and all his other teammates came back from the shower. Marco was ready dressing up in record time and for the time while Erik was still getting ready he was styling his hair. When Erik was finally done he left with Marco. They had no problems with their conversation the entire ride home. Marco learned that Erik was a humble guy that appeared to appreciate honesty. He drove a new car but it wasn't a Lamborghini nor a Ferrari which you might expect from a guy Erik's age with loads of money. Every moment seemed to make Marco appreciate Erik more and fall more in love with him. They said goodbyes and Erik promised to be back at Marco's flat around six o'clock.

...

Erik made his way back to his flat and decided to call his sister. Lisa knew a lot about cooking and wines and Erik wanted to ask her what would be a good wine to go well with any food. He didn't want to go to Marco's place empty handed even though the midfielder had said not to bring anything else than yourself.

Lisa answered Erik's call almost immediately and Erik was glad:  
"Hallo Lisa how's it going?" Asked Erik cheerfully.

"Oh hallo Erik nice to here from you I'm good thank you. What about you?" Asked Lisa

"More than happy than you, I'm actually having a date tonight and I was going to ask you what sort of an wine should I bring with me." Said Erik. Lisa asked him specific questions about the price and what were they going to eat. Erik answered all the questions the best he could and eventually Lisa managed to tell him a name of the wine Erik was supposed to  
buy.

"So who is your date?" She asked before Erik would hung up.

"Just a person..." Erik managed to choke out. Nobody of his family knew about his sexual orientation and he was certainly not ready to open up about it to his sister.

"Okay so you're not telling me I see" she said a little offended.

"It's complicated I'll tell you when I know if this ends up being anything" Erik said feeling a little bad that he couldn't tell his sister the truth. They hung up shortly after Lisa wishing Erik good luck for his date. When Erik was done he saw that Marcel had tried it to call him so he called him right away.

"Hallo Erik" came the instant reply

"Hallo Matze I saw that you had tried to call me"

"Yes, I was wondering if you'd like to have dinner with me and Scmelle and our girlfriends tonight?" Asked Matze

"I actually can't, I kind of have a date I guess." Said Erik carefully.

"are you kidding me Erik that's wonderful news!" Matze beamed at the other end of the line.

"I guess it is though I'm not completely sure whether it's a date or not." Erik admitted feeling a little stupid about getting so quickly excited when he really didn't even know was it a real date or not.

"You mean that you're not sure if he's gay?" Said Matze without any hesitation and Erik was impressed.

"Yeah and even though he might be I'm not sure if he likes me." Said Erik feeling even more down now.

"Did he invite you or did you ask him?" Asked Matze 

"He asked me in fact" said Erik feeling a bit more positive now.

"Well then you shouldn't have anything to worry about. Honestly Erik you're a nice and a handsome guy, I have no problem admitting it. Just enjoy your evening but I also think that you should be careful I mean I don't think you want the press to know" said Matze a little concerned.

"I'll take care of that don't worry. Thank you for being here for me Matze, I really appreciate it" said Erik with a lump on his throat because of his emotions.

"Anytime Erik, now go and start getting ready for your date" said Matze and shortly after they hung up.

Erik had about two more hours to go and he wanted to spend his time wisely getting ready. Firstly he took a shower, and then started to dress up and style his hair. He chose to wear a pair of black skinny jeans which Marco had praised a long time ago. He wore a blue dressy shirt but tucked up the sleeves so that he would look more casual. He then styled his hair to look absolutely perfect.

Erik made one thing that he thought he might regret later. He took the earring off his left ear to make sure that Marco got the point. Erik was aware that he was throwing fuel into the fire but he didn't want to wait anymore. If there was the slightest chance that Marco might actually like him back he had to make the most of it.

He had about 45 minutes left so he took of, bought the wine and soon he was sweating behind Marco's door taking deep breaths.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I might be able to write the next chapter soon maybe even today, I'm hoping that I would be able to post it soon :)  
> As always feedback is love <3


	5. Revealing

Marco had been sitting on his couch for a long time waiting for Erik. It was already 17:58 and Marco knew that Erik would be at his flat around six but for some reason Marco was sure that Erik wouldn't come. Marco was wondering if he had appeared to be too anxious. And again what if Erik wasn't really gay.

Once again Marco noticed that he had wet marks on his armpits. He was sweating too much because of his anxiety. He went to his bedroom to change his shirt for the second time. Just when he was there his doorbell rang and he hurried to pull the black tight t-shirt on him and take one deep breath before opening the door.

Behind the door he saw Erik standing there beaming at him. Erik was wearing a blue shirt with black skinny jeans. Marco loved the sight he saw. Erik looked absolutely gorgeous and it took Marco some self controlling not to groan out loud. Then Marco noticed something that almost made him gasp: Erik always wore earrings, most of them looking very good and Marco always paid attention to them. This night he had only chosen to wear one in his right ear. Marco was once again shocked and completely stunned. Had Erik deliberately only worn an earring on his right ear just to make sure that Marco got the point that he in fact was gay?! Or then he could have just dropped it accidentally ? Marco's mind was full of questions but he had to let Erik come inside.

"Erik I'm so glad you made it!" Said Marco and let Erik inside.

"I'm glad I could come" said Erik handing Marco the gift bag with the bottle of rather expensive wine in it.

"But I told you not to bring anything" said Marco as he looked into the bag

"I'm stubborn I guess" said Erik chuckling. He took his shoes and jacket off and then hugged Marco gently. Marco's mind was going crazy. Yes, he had hugged Erik before but now it was all so different. He intentionally tried to feel every inch of Erik's body. After they hugged they ended up going to the kitchen where Marco had prepared a wonderful dinner. Erik praised Marco's cooking abilities and they're conversation was light hearted and easygoing. It had been a while since Marco had enjoyed having a conversation with someone so much.

Meanwhile Erik was trying to be as calm as possible. He had been so anxious to have this dinner with Marco and to finally be "intimate" with him. Though Marco hadn't yet talked with him about the note or Erik's attempt with the earrings and Erik was most certainly not going to be the one to bring it up. But just as they were done eating Erik heard the words he had so eagerly been waiting for.

"Listen Erik, about the note... I'm pretty sure that you understood the meaning of the note. Am I right?" Asked Marco looking tenderly straight into Erik's eyes. Marco's eyes made Erik's world shatter for a moment but he had gone through this conversation so many times in his head that he would know what to say.

"Yes I did, Marco you don have to tell me anything but as I already told you I understand. You can talk to me if you like but seriously I understand what does it feel like to be a gay footballer." Erik stated his heart beating furiously waiting for Marco's answer.

"So are you also,-"

"Gay, yes I am. I'm surprised that you didn't get the hint of my ears." Erik blushed

"To be honest I never though that you could be gay" said Marco being completely honest.

"I'm trying to hide it, nobody really knows only Matze to be exact. It isn't particularly easy being gay in our sport."

"That's why I was trying so hard to hide it too. But I wanted to... Well I'm not sure I was drunk that evening and I felt like going into a some sort of a gathering would help. Thank god and you that I didn't make it that far. Thank you Erik."

"Stop thanking me already it was least I could do." said Erik and smiled directly at Marco making Marco's heart flutter. For a moment they were just staring at each other's eyes and then Marco's phone rang. He was irritated at first but then he saw that it was Yvonne calling and that he had to answer.

Erik listened to Marco's phone call. Marco used words like darling, would love to and other caring words that made Erik feel jealous for no apparent reason. Of course Erik hadn't yet though about the fact that Marco might have a boyfriend.

Yvonne had told Marco that Nico had been crying for a while now telling her how much he wants to meet Marco and Yvonne had promised to call Marco to try to get him to visit them. Marco had promised to go reluctantly but he had to to say yes. He loved the little kid from the bottom of his heart and he would never say no to him.

"Was that uhm, you're boyfriend?" Asked Erik after Marco had finished the phone call. Marco's face went blank and he was quick to explain.

"Oh god no, I don't have a boyfriend, it was my sister she asked me to visit my nephew.

"I'm sorry, you just spoke in a way that made me think that you might have someone." Erik explained embarrassed.

"No it's okay you don't have to be sorry. How about you, do you have someone?" Marco dared to ask.

"No I don't, I suppose I want someone but I don't know if he likes me." Erik told Marco looking straight into his eyes.

Another awkward situation was saved by Erik's phone. It beeped loudly a couple of times. Erik sighed loudly and answered the phone.

This time it was Marco listening to the phone call eagerly. Erik spoke quite quietly and Marco was quit sure that he didn't want Marco to hear him. Eventually he ended the call and sighed.

"Sorry it was my mom. She has been a little worried because I live by myself here in Dortmund - and that I haven't found a nice girl to live with yet" Erik chuckled and Marco joined his laughter.

They kept on talking for a while about their families until Marco realized that he had to get going to Yvonne's place not to keep Nico waiting for too long.

"I'm sorry but I really have to go there now since I already promised them to go there. Could you drive me there?" Asked Marco. Erik was more than happy to give Marco this favor to spend just a little more time with him. They talked and laughed on their way to Yvonne's place and both of them felt like they had come a lot closer than they had already been. Both of them feeling completely and shamelessly in love.

"Thank you for driving me Erik" said Marco as he when Erik stopped the car in front of the address Marco had advised him.

"Anytime Marco" said Erik and smiled sadly at Marco because he was already unbuckling his seatbelt. Then Marco though did something that he didn't see coming: he leaned against Erik and embraced him rather awkwardly in the tight space but Erik clung on to Marco like his life was depending on him. They seemed to embrace each other for ages just enjoying the feeling of they're torsos pressed together. Then just before they parted Marco kissed Erik's cheek. The kiss itself wasn't mind blowing, only a rather innocent kiss on the cheek but for Erik it meant the world.

"Would you like to meet again tomorrow? It's not so often that we have two days off in one week so I think we should make the most of it right?" Asked Marco and Erik's smile was back on his face again.

"I'd love to, I'll call you in the morning?" Erik asked as Marco was getting out of the car. Marco didn't say anything he just winked at Erik as he shut the door. Erik would definitely need a few moments to gather himself before he would be able to drive. Marco's wink was still in his head, his cheek was burning because of the kiss as was his entire body.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading my story :)  
> At this point I'd like to note that English isn't my first language so if there are any mistakes (which I'm pretty sure there are) I would like to know about them and then I'll correct them :)


	6. Finally

Marco woke up the next day feeling refreshed and anxious. Last night he had had a wonderful time with Erik and so he would probably have today. Erik had admitted that he was gay which was great news. When Marco had kissed his cheek Erik hadn't seemed to be uncomfortable nor he had tried to pull away. Instead his cheeks had turned to the most beautiful red and when they were hugging Marco could clearly feel his strong heartbeat.

Marco had known that he had had feelings for Erik but last night had made a huge difference. Marco had felt the sudden urge to kiss Erik more than once and it was more than enough to prove to take things to the next level now that it seemed that Erik wouldn't actually mind.

Though every time Marco thought about their possible relationship he became scared. What would the team say? What if the press finds out? All these questions were going trough in his head. He was also bugged by the though about Erik being his boyfriend after Dominic. Marco had had a few encounters with some guys after that but having a boyfriend was a completely different thing. But one thing Marco knew for sure: everyone of his worries didn't mean nothing if Erik would be his. Erik was worth it all.

Marco's thoughts were interrupted when he heard his doorbell ring. Marco was wondering who would be visiting him, he was pretty sure that Erik had promised to call him last night. He apparently had been wrong because when he opened the door he saw Erik standing there dressed in a black leather jacket and some blue tight jeans. A sight that simply took Marco's breath away.

"Hi, Marco, I know what you're thinking about, what am I doing here. The thing is I forgot my phone here yesterday and I was hoping that you were already ready enough to spend the day with me" said Erik with a chuckle taking a good look Marco's body. Marco was still a little confused. He had woken up only a small time ago so he was still wearing only his boxers and a simple white t-shirt, his hair all over his face.

"Good morning, uhm,,come look for your phone. Just hold on for a while I'll have to get some clothes on and then we can do something" he said trying to sound not so overwhelmed. He let Erik in meanwhile running to his bedroom to pick out some clothes. He took a little more time than he should have, he knew that Erik had probably already found his phone but he wanted to make an impression and look extra good. He ended up picking clothes looking a bit like Erik's and then quickly styling his hair to look almost right. He hated to leave it imperfect but something absolutely perfect was waiting for him in his living room and he didn't want to leave Erik waiting for too long.

"So what are we going to do?" Asked Marco as he walked into his living room where he saw Erik sitting on his couch. To make Marco's mood even better he saw that Erik blushed when he saw him.

"Actually I was wondering if you'd like to try a hobby of mine" said Erik with a cheeky expression on his face.

"Of course, what exactly are we going to do?" Asked Marco feeling a bit stressed but he was up for anything us long as he would be doing it with Erik.

"We're going to have to go outside for that, wear something warm" said Erik already standing up to go to the hall to wait for Marco. Marco followed him curiously choosing to also wear a leather jacket much like Erik's. They made their way down the stairs in silence Marco anxious and Erik rather amused. When they finally got out of the apartment Marco stood still and watched Erik go near a huge motorcycle and picking up two helmets and then he was handing one to Marco.

"Would you take a ride with me?" He asked. 

Marco had to take his time to get himself together. Erik, the innocent and sweet Erik was driving this huge supermoto and Marco was supposed to take a ride with him. Marco looked at him directly in the eyes and asked:

"Are you serious about this?" Asked Marco with a scared expression on his face.

"You aren't scared aren't you?" Asked Erik amused again.

"Well to be honest I wasn't expecting this and I've never really been on one of these things" said Marco as he pointed his finger at the huge Ducati motorcycle.

"Don't be scared, I promise to drive carefully. And I understand that you didn't well expect this, it's kind of a secret hobby of mine. Come on just sit on the back and hold on tight." Said Erik as he already moved towards the bike.

Erik was still waiting as he watched Marco hesitate for a while. Eventually Marco decided that he trusted the younger one enough and climbed on the motorcycle to sit behind Erik.

"You can hold on to these things here or just put your hands around me." Said Erik really hoping that Marco would choose the second option. It seemed that he did because as soon as Erik started the ignition he wrapped his hands around Erik's waist and Erik was more than happy with his little experiment. This way he was probably able to make Marco trust him even more and to show him some of the stuff he liked.

Erik drove around for a while while every time he accelerated Marco's grip on him tightened and Erik was secretly very happy with himself. They drove around for a little while and when Erik went to the highway Marco's grip on him was so tight that he barely managed to breath. Finally Erik decided that he wanted to already know what was Marco thinking about all this so he drove back to Marco's place and parked in front of his apartment. He switched off the ignition, took his helmet of and then turned to look at Marco. Marco shad also took his helmet of and his eyes were wide with shock.

"So how was that, what do you think?" Asked Erik eagerly waiting for Marco's answer.

"Honestly I was scared to death, but I loved it" he said and Erik couldn't help but laugh.

"I'm glad you liked it" said Erik as he got of the bike.

"Seriously Erik I'm glad that you showed me some thing that you like. Would you like to come inside though ?" Asked Marco hoping that he would because the evening was still young and he wanted to do the thing what he had wanted to do for a long time now.

"Sure" said Erik as his face lit up and he followed Marco to his apartment. When they were inside Marco turned on the radio out of habit as always when he came home. Erik raised and eyebrow but didn't say anything. They again made their way to Marco's huge sofa and sat there in silence. Erik felt that Marco was trying to say something so he decided to let Marco take his time. Erik himself wanted to say something too but he was not going to do it. He wanted Marco to be the braver one. Erik noticed how he was overthinking things again so he decided to focus on the radio playing on the background.

-today I want the help all of those people out there who are still on the friend zone. Listen to these lyrics of Jason Derulo's song The other side and take matters to your own hands. The commentator ended his speech and Erik felt rather awkward. He hadn't heard the song before but he had been in the friend zone with Marco for too long. 

 

In the beginning  
I never though it would be you  
When we were chillin'  
Smiling in the photo booth.  
But we got closer  
Till you were eating of my spoon  
And coming over  
And we would talk all afternoon

Erik listened carefully at the lyrics and he felt like somebody had read his mind. The lyrics were almost talking about his relationship with Marco. Erik noticed that Marco was looking at him very closely and then Marco moved closer to Erik so that their knees were touching. Erik felt that his breathing got heavier and heavier and was it just him and his imagination or was Marco actually going to do what Erik though he would?

Tonight we'll just get drunk  
Disturb the peace  
Find your hands all over me  
And the you bite you're lip  
Whisper and say: we're going all the way 

Marco was still looking at Erik eyes full of love. He didn't want to keep Erik waiting anymore. Marco's own heart was beating like crazy but he knew that now was his chance. He moved a little bit so that he was facing Erik. Erik looked at him with wide eyes and mouth open. Marco gathered all of his courage and took Erik's face in his hands. 

Tonight  
Take me to the other side  
Sparks fly like the Fourth of July  
Just take me to the other side  
I see that sexy look in your eyes  
And I know we ain't friends anymore  
If we walk down this road we'll be lovers for sure  
So tonight kiss me like it's do or die  
And take me to the other side. 

Marco took one last look of Erik's eyes before he slowly and gently pressed his lips on Erik's.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally I managed to write them getting a little more intimate yay :)  
> I want to know do I write clearly enough or is there something you don't und so please do tell me :)


	7. Bliss

Erik felt Marco's lips on his and slowly started to realize what was actually happening. Marco was kissing him. Actually kissing him on the lips with his own will. The strong desire in Erik's body burst into flames and Erik sighed against Marco's mouth. Marco parted their lips only for a while before he seductevely licked on Erik's bottom lip and Erik understood what he wanted. Erik opened his mouth and let Marco's eager tongue slipped inside his awaiting mouth. Erik's feelings were overwhelming. He felt Marco's tongue caressing every part of his mouth and Erik couldn't help but moan. Marco answered his moan with kissing him harder without any hesitation now. The kiss was still tender but with so much passion between them the kiss was almost forceful.

Their tongues for battering for dominance but Erik was grateful that Marco had taken the lead. Marco's hands were now also moving with his own will. His hands had previously cupped Erik's cheeks but now his right hand was going through Erik's hair and his left hand was grappling Erik's waist. He was in desperate need to get closer to Erik as fast as he could so tried to pull Erik's closer but when they were both sideways it was hard. Erik was still moaning and his hands were also all over Marco. Marco was painfully hard and he wanted to feel Erik closer so he took on of Erik's legs on his arm and then moved Erik so that Erik was now sitting on Marco's lap straddling him.

"Oh Erik" moaned Marco when he felt Erik's but on his rock hard manhood. Erik also moaned and Marco noticed to his relief that something very hard was poking Marco's thing.

Erik was desperate to feel Marco even more. He was well aware that they were both hard and Erik's throbbing dick was already very tense and Erik wasn't sure if he could actually come only by sitting on Marco's lap and letting Marco's hands go trough his body but the feeling he got was overwhelming and soon he was afraid he would embarrass himself far too early but there was nothing he could do to overcome his arousal. He dug his hands to Marco's hair while Marco's hands were on both of Erik's sides. His hands were moving south and Erik moaned loud into Marco's mouth as Marco's hands found Erik's butt. He gently pressed his hands so that Erik came even closer to Marco and so his orgasm. Marco carefully started to move so that Erik's and his erections were rubbing against each other. Needy sound were filling the room as Erik felt that his orgasm was going to tear him apart but then Marco stopped moving and started to unbuckle Erik's belt.

Erik's gasped for air and quickly put his hand on Marco's to make Marco stop. Marco looked at Erik with eyes full of lust and asked:

"What is wrong babe, I want you so" he breathed and pulled Erik in for another kiss.

"Marco believe me I want it too, but I ehh, I'm a virgin I mean I haven't really been together with any men before." Erik said embarrassed and looked down.

"Oh Erik we don't have to, thank god you told me. I would never do anything that you don't want. Do you realize that? We will take things slowly I promise" Marco said and Erik visibly relaxed on his lap.

"Thank you Marco" said Erik and kissed the blonde with all the love he had.

"Erik I love you, I love you so much" said Marco letting his emotions take the upper hand.

"I love you too Marco, more than you could ever imagine." Said Erik and he felt Marco's grip on him tighten and Erik couldn't have been happier.

Their beautiful moment was disturbed by a knock on Marco's door yet again. Marco groaned in frustration as he limped to the door and opened it. Erik was bewildered when he saw a young boy storming in. The boy hugged Marco's knees while Marco was looking at the sight with astonishment. There was a woman around Marco's age standing by the door she saw Erik and quickly explained herself:

"I'm sorry Marco I have to bring Nico over here, I have some important business to take care of and I can't bring him anywhere else without any warning, I'm sorry I didn't know that you had company, but I really have to go now" she said and shut the door behind her.

Marco looked at the door stunned but soon came to his senses again.

"Nico, say hi to uncle Erik will you?" He said to the child that was hanging on his knees. Erik watched as the child shyly waved his hand to Erik.

"Hallo Nico, I'm Erik" said Erik as he waved back.

"Well Nico what do you want to do?" Asked Marco as he looked at Erik apologetically.

"I want to play Fifa" the boy yelled and Marco laughed. Marco the set up the game and they played against Nico in turns of course letting him win.

They made Nico lunch and overall they had a wonderful time. Erik couldn't help but muse himself what a beautiful family they would make. They were nowhere near the point of having a family, hell they just had had their first kiss but Erik still dreamed about the possibility of having a family with Marco. It had been about three hours when Yvonne finally came back to pick up Nico and when Marco closed the door behind them he sighed loudly.

"I'm sorry about that Erik" he said and came to hug the young defender.

"I had a great time" said Erik without lying as he hugged the blonde tightly and pressed a soft kiss on his cheek.

"I just wish that we would have had some time to ourselves" stated the midfielder and kissed Erik with passion.

"Me too but I'm going to have to ruin your mood now too. I want to get home before it gets dark and since tomorrow after training we'll be traveling to Stuttgart before the game tomorrow, I'm afraid we won't be able to be alone for a while" said Erik and felt a little sad.

"That's true. And if you wouldn't leave I'm afraid that we wouldn't sleep a lot, I couldn't keep my hands of you" whispered Marco to Erik's ear and made the defender shiver. They kept on kissing and Erik had to stop before it would get too heated and he wouldn't be able leave. They said their goodbyes sad, not wanting to leave each other. But when Erik did leave, he was sure that he was the happiest man on the planet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took so long to update my wifi has been down :(  
> I'll try to ad more chapters soon if I get my internet connection working :)


	8. Needing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning that it's getting a bit explicit ! ;)

Marco waited for Erik at the training center where Marcel had once again driven him. The entire ride there Marco had had to give Marcel a specific speech about what had happened with Erik. Marco was more than happy to tell him about how he felt about Erik but also his worries about people knowing.

He had been waiting for Erik for a while now, he hoped that he was fine.he was worried even though they had still sended texts with each other yesterday talking about their feelings.

Eventually Erik arrived but by the time he arrived the whole team was already there so there wasn't any chance for them to have any privacy.

During the training Erik glanced at Marco time to time almost unconsciously. He had done the same thing before, but now he was looking at the man he has been kissing. During the shower Erik deliberately decided not to glance at Marco the way he usually did because he was well aware that he might loose all of his self control.

Marco was disappointed when he couldn't sit next to Erik on the buss to Stuttgart but he knew that it would raise suspicions because they never sat together.

When they finally arrived at Stuttgart Kloppo gave them the keys to their rooms and there were really no surprises with the way they were going to share the rooms. Erik would share a room with Matze and Marco would share a room with Mats. They were not supposed to leave their hotel until noon tomorrow and not leave their rooms if that wasn't absolutely necessary. Marco had his own plans though.

Erik was in his room listening about Matze speaking about how he had organized a perfect surprise for his girlfriends and how he had got laid. At some point he must have noticed that Erik wasn't paying much attention to his monologue and tried to see what was Erik doing with his smartphone.

Erik noticed that Matze was grinning at him like an idiot and Erik realized that he must have noticed what was he doing. Erik was reading the texts he and Marco had sensed the night before, luckily Erik had changed Marco's name in his contacts only to a simple heart emoji so that if somebody ever saw his texts to him they wouldn't be able know it is Marco.

"So Erik, I suppose that your date went well, didn't it?" Asked Matze and nearly pushing his tongue through his cheek.

"Matze please stop that!" Begged Erik as he blushed.

"No but seriously how did it go?" Asked Matze a little more serious now.

"I think it went well... I mean we kissed but I'm not sure are we together yet." Said Erik realizing it himself.

"So you didn't get laid?" Asked Matze a little shocked

"No, it was our first date what do you think! And I've never been with a guy like that you really think that I could just jump into a bed with him!?" Said Erik nearly shouting but then he realized that the walls were thin and he didn't want anyone else knowing.

"Sorry I didn't really know how do things like this go with you guys" said Matze while Erik gave him a disapproving look.

"Really you haven't been with guys, and like if you ever will are you going to be on top or- ?" Matze continued regardless of the mad look Erik was giving him.

"Look Matze do you really want to know?" Asked Erik while his phone beeped. His face lit up at the second he saw the message and who it was from.

-come outside your room, now. Marco-

"Well I'm just curious, it's not like I need to know all the dirty details, hey where do you think you're going" asked Matze when he saw Erik leaving the room.

"I think I forgot something downstairs lied Erik" as he got out of the room and saw Marco leaning against the wall.

"What are you doing here?" Asked Erik as he moved closer to Marco, a little closer than he should because they were in public.

"Come with me" he said to Erik as he started to pull him near a door which he opened and then he entered the room still pulling Erik with him.

The room was dark and there wasn't much to see either. There was only a small light coming out of the window on top of one of the walls. Erik didn't have much time to look at what was going on around him because Marco had already closed the door and now he pinned Erik against the next possible wall. Erik gasped as he felt Marco's body against his and Marco's tongue darting in his mouth. Erik groaned again when he felt Marco's cheeky tongue going through every part of his mouth while his right arm was in Erik's hair, and his left hand on his chest. Erik moaned and gave into his touch even though he wasn't sure about the time and the place anymore.

Marco was now moving his left hand around Erik's torso. His left hand caressed his six pack and Erik seemed to appreciate his effort because every time he touched him in a new place Erik moaned softly. Even though Marco knew that Erik hadn't been with guys before, Marco thought that he wouldn't mind if he would slip his hand under Erik's shirt and so he did. Marco earned a surprised gasp from Erik and he continued. He caressed his abs and slowly made his way upper to his nipples. He took on of them on his hand and slowly started to roll his fingers around it. They were both breathless because of their kiss and Erik tilted his head back and moaned loudly. Marco took his chance started to kiss Erik's throat carefully, he didn't want to leave there a mark. Erik seemed to be looking for more friction and he was trying to press his groin to Marco's. Marco luckily noticed his efforts and pressed his body more tightly against Erik's. Both of them moaned when their boners brushed together and soon they were grinding against each other.

Something in Marco's mind made him realize that they couldn't keep doing this here or they'll end up coming in their pants and then they would have some explaining to do. It would be already hard enough to get past Mats and Matze with these boners.

"Erik we need to... Stop" panted Marco heavily as he forced himself off Erik.

"Scheiße" muttered Erik as he was left panting against the door with kiss swollen lips and pupils dilated with strong arousal.

"Believe me I don't want to stop either" said Marco and had to laugh a little bit. After all he had just nearly had dropped down on his knees in a closet. But he knew that Erik might have not been ready for that yet and he respected and loved him so much that he wanted to show him that he was a patient man even though Erik was making it damn hard.

"Come on we should go back before people start noticing" Marco said taking Erik's hand in his.

"How am I supposed to go back to my room with a boner like this?!" Said Erik and pointed at his crotch and Marco had to visibly swallow.

"I know what I'm going to do in the shower when I get back in my room" whispered Marco in Erik's ear and he heard that now Erik was the one who had to swallow. Marco didn't want to make their separation any harder than it already was so he pulled Erik for one last embrace before he made his way back to his room.

"Where were you ?" Asked Mats as soon as Marco has closed the door.

"I thought that I had left my headphones at the lobby, I'm going to take a shower now" said Marco not waiting for an answer. He didn't want to risk Mats seeing his boner and he needed urgent relief.

He undressed himself and then went to the shower stall. He turned on the hot water and soon he was standing under the stream, thinking about Erik.

Marco's throbbing manhood demanded for attention and Marco gave in taking his cock in a tight grip. He moaned and slowly started to move his hand back and forth on his shaft and it didn't take him a long time until he was ready to shoot his load. The though that Erik might be doing the same thing in his room send Marco over the edge and he came all over the bathroom doors moaning Erik's name.

Marco soon went to bed completely exhausted and happy that Mats hadn't questioned anything.


	9. Trusting

Marco and Erik didn't have time to see each other for the following morning, nor the afternoon. They had only stolen glances of each other noticing their gazes time to time.

They played their match against Stuttgart that day. Dortmund won 0-3 and Marco played the entire match assisting one goal. Erik came on as a substitute in the 49th minute and ever since Erik had come in Marco had tried to play the best as he could, making a few dribbles that he was particularly proud off. As the game ended the whole team was in a cheerful mood and they were already on their way back to Dortmund when Erik received a message from the very special man behind the heart emoji.

-would you drive me to my place from the stadium? Also if you'd like we could get some of your stuff from your place and you could stay at my place for the night. Don't be worried we'll take our time, but I really really want to spend time with you. Marco x 

Erik smiled as he read the message over and over again. Marco wanted to spend the night with Erik and Erik was more than happy to spend the night with his secret lover, so he send him a text back.

Finally the buss was back at Signal Iduna park and the players were free to go. They would have the next day off and both Marco and Erik were very happy that they would finally have some time of their own. Erik and Marco had decided not to leave together, Erik had gone to his car alone and Marco had followed him soon after.

"I'm so happy that you're going to spend the night with me" said Marco when they finally were in the car on their way to Erik's.

"Me too, but Marco, I hope that you understand that we won't sleep together. Don't get me wrong it's not that I don't want to but I really don't know if I'm ready and-" Erik babbled before Marco stopped him:

"Erik I promise you we'll take our time. Don't worry I would never do anything you don't like. Just stay stop whenever you feel uncomfortable" said Marco and he really had made Erik feel better with his words. He pressed a small kiss on Erik's hand. They drove to Erik's place mostly in silence, though their silence wasn't awkward at all, they both just enjoyed each other's company.

When they had picked up some of Erik's clothes they had decided to buy take out and Erik drove them to a nice Chinese deli, where they picked up some food and then headed for Marco's place.

Marco told Erik that he should leave his stuff in Marco's bedroom and after that they should start eating. For a while they ate in silence sharing comments about the match before Erik finally managed to croak out what was bothering him:

"Marco I wanted to ask you something" he stated looking deep into Marco's eyes.

"Ask me anything, is this why you've been so quiet the whole time?" Asked Marco finishing his own meal taking one last bite.

"Yeah well maybe, I was just thinking about what we have here and I want to know like are we err, together?" Said Erik a little afraid of Marco's answer.

"Erik we are together. As long as you want it of course" said Marco and Erik's face lit up immediately and he didn't dare to hide his emotions. He clung his arms happily around Marco and it took the midfielder a little by a surprise.

"Oh Marco I'm so happy, I love you so much" said Erik and pressed his head to Marco's throat inhaling his boyfriends sweet sent.

"I love you more Erik trust me. Now let me show you exactly how much I love you" said Marco already picking Erik up and carrying him into the bedroom.

Erik was surprised that they actually made to the bedroom because Marco was kissing him all the time. Marco never left Erik's lips and Erik clung to Marco like is life was depending on him. When Marco reached his bed he gently laid Erik on his bed so that Erik was lying on his back. Erik was a little out of his mind because of the sudden lack of touch and he lifted his gaze of to look at Marco. Marco was standing in front of the huge bed looking at Erik. He had a weird look on his face and Erik was just about to say something when he heard Marco say:

"just enjoy this, trust me. If you feel uncomfortable anytime just tell me" after his words he started to undress himself. He slowly started to unbutton the buttons on his shirt and Erik realized what was going on: Marco was stripping for him. The thought itself made Erik hard and Marco slowly revealing his toned upper body made Erik's desire burn. Erik blushed furiously as he noticed that his jeans gave no mercy and that his boner was clearly visible to Marco who had just gotten his shirt off. The midfielders strong hands and perfect six pack was so close at Erik sight that Erik groaned against his own will. Marco heard this and then looked down at Erik's figure and noticed his impressive erection and winked at the young defender who blushed redder than ever.

Marco took pity with Erik and didn't want to leave him waiting for any longer as he was very eager to continue himself so he took off his belt and slowly, very slowly lowered his pants and then took them completely off. As Marco looked up again he saw Erik's eyes glued to his crotch where Marco's tight slim fit boxers were the prison of Marco's huge bulge.  
The defender finally lifted his eyes when he saw Marco moving, approaching Erik on the bed.

"Love is it okay if we take this off" he said as he tugged on Erik's shirt when he moved closer so that he was lying next to Erik on his bed.

"Please Marco" pleaded Erik as his lust was becoming overwhelming.

Marco didn't need to be told twice: he lifted Erik shirt when Erik leaned forward and so the shirt as off. Marco took a moment to cherish the vision of Erik shirtless in front of him before he pulled Erik in for another kiss. He started the kiss tenderly at first but he was driven by lust and such passion, so soon the kiss was just teeth and lips crashing together fighting with need.

Erik's boner was throbbing in his pants, trapped in his tight jeans. He couldn't stop moaning to his mouth and if he was honest with himself, he never would've though that being with Marco like this would be so perfect. Both of them ran out of breath too quick for their liking but Marco took advantage of Erik's exposed neck starting to kiss him there. Erik moaned under Marco's body feeling the heat radiating between them and Marco's clever tongue biting his neck, marking Erik on purpose.

"Erik I'm just making sure you're mine, nobody else can ever have you again" Marco murmured against Erik's neck making him shiver. Marco continued his efforts for a while before he moved closer to Erik's chest. At this point Erik was halfway out of his mind because of the desire building in him. He had touched his own chest and used his own hands to satisfy himself, thinking that they were Marco's but having Marco's real hands on his body was something very different.

The midfielder kissed his way up and down Erik's body making the defender shiver and moan uncontrollably. As soon as he kissed Erik's already hard nipple and circled his tongue around it Erik lost all of his control:

"Oh god Marco yes just like that" he moaned breathlessly and Marco smiled content with himself, but he was also halfway out of his mind of desire.

"You like this don't you?" Asked Marco as he pressed his body even closer to Erik's so that his proud manhood was pressing against Erik's thigh.

"Yes Marco, I... I will not be able to stand this for much longer" admitted Erik feeling embarrassed as he sensed his cock hardening even more and the orgasm he was struggling to keep at bay growing in his groin.

"Is it okay if I take these off" moaned Marco breathlessly as he pushed his fingers under the waistband of Erik's pants. Marco himself was also close - it had been such a long time since he had last been with a man like this.

"Yes please Marco" moaned Erik and Marco was quick to obey. He pulled down Erik's pants almost violently and then took a moment before he also pulled down Erik's boxers. Erik himself was a little taken back that Marco had also taken off his boxers but currently he didn't mind because his manhood was now free out of the tightness of his pants.  
"Oh love you're so big, and so beautiful" said Marco now also removing the only garment left on his body. Marco's words had made Erik smile like and idiot and unbearably aroused and his arousal grew almost inhuman when he saw Marco's impressive length without anything blocking his vision.

Marco wasn't up for waisting time anymore, he pressed their bodies together and took Erik's face in his hands for a sloppy kiss.

Erik noticed how he no longer had the control of his body, his hips were bucking to Marco's in their own will needing to feel the most of Marco as fast and hard as he could. The midfielder was also now moaning uncontrollably to his mouth and his hands were getting lower to their tangled hips and Erik tensed only a little bit but Marco noticed it. He smoothly massaged Erik's thigh and carefully made his way closer to Erik's groin searching if he would found any signs of discomfort in Erik but he didn't get any so he continued.

Erik never left Marco's mouth as he felt Marco's hand closing in on their throbbing boners. As soon as Marco's hand touched his boner Erik lost it and moaned louder than before encouraging Marco to go on.

The midfielders skilled fingers made short work on them, Marco wasn't up for teasing anymore. He took both of their erections in his hand and started to stroke them without any mercy. His fingers slipped up and down easily because of the amount of precum they both had leaked. Only after for about a minute of Marco's handwork he felt like he was going to explode but Erik was the first to speak up.

"Oh god Marco I'm so close.. I think.. I... Oh god I'm coming" whined Erik as he felt a powerful orgasm ripping him apart. He shivered violently as he came all over his own abdomen and Marco's hand.

Marco's own orgasm ripped him apart as soon as he had heard Erik becoming undone and coming all over their tangled bodies. Marco couldn't hold back anymore so he just screamed:

"Oh my Erik oh god I'm gonna... Erik" he shouted as he was shivering and moaning breathlessly. Both of them fell into the sweet oblivion for a while Marco crashing his body on top of Erik's completely spent and utterly happy.

Erik came to his senses first and he started to slide his fingers around Marco's back making the older man purr.

"Erik that was so, so good and wonderful, thank you trusting me" said Marco his body still against Erik's.

"Marco I love you so so much" Erik informed without any hesitation and hugged Marco tightly.

"I love you more Erik, I love you more" he said before he leaned for a towel and quickly wiped the mess of their bodies and then curled himself around Erik.

Erik felt more than happy being the one who Marco hugged him from behind, feeling so safe in his tight grip.

"I love you" Marco murmured into Erik's ear before both of them fell asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was inspired by Blue_Night's wonderful work Dangerous Love :-)
> 
> Probably the cheater most of you had waited for, sorry it took so long but I wanted it to be perfect and I hope I succeeded :)


	10. Boyfriends

Erik woke up the next morning lying on his back, one of Marco's arms on his chest and one of Marco's legs curled on his waist. Marco lay very protectively around Erik and Erik sighed happily as he noticed that Marco was still asleep.

He lay there absolutely happy remembering about how close he had felt with Marco last night. He was almost about to fall asleep again when Marco moved his body a little bit murmuring to Erik:

"Good morning schatz". Marco lifted his head so that he was able to kiss Erik lightly on the lips.

"You just called me schatz" Erik beamed at Marco happily, who pressed his body closer to Erik's again.

"Yes, I read an interview about you saying that you thought that it's beautiful, and now that I say it myself it definitely is. You're my love Erik and I'm not planing to let you go and I hope that you won't ever go away either" said Marco and Erik felt a lump on his throat. He couldn't believe that Marco actually had called him his loved one, saying that he'll never let Erik go. Erik had wanted somebody to love him for such a long time and he had specifically wanted Marco to be his schatz. His emotions almost took control over him and he felt his eyes starting to water but he didn't want Marco to see him weak so he just slowly turned around so that Marco was now laying under him.

"Marco you have no idea how much I love you and how long I've loved you. If I'd let you go I'd be the most stupid person ever" stated Erik as he started to kiss Marco senseless. Marco chuckled pleased as Erik's tongue made his way around his mouth and then his cheeks, nose, forehead, jaw and his ears. Marco's hands were moving on their own will going up and down Erik's still naked torso. Marco finally reached Erik's butt, covered by his boxers and pressed slightly so that their crotches were pressed together.

Erik could feel Marco's hard on pressed against his thigh and he moaned yet again straight into Marco's ear:

"Ahh Marco" he breathed out and Marco rewarded him with his hands starting to massage Erik's backside but then stopping. He had other plans:

"Erik last night what we had was awesome. I can't tell you how much I want more and if we continue this I might force you into something your not ready for." Said Marco and carefully moved his hand back to Erik's face.

"W what ?" Erik panted a little out of his mind. He had wanted to continue so much but he knew that Marco was right. They should take their time so that their relationship would get stronger. At the same moment Erik's tummy made a noise that made Marco chuckle.

"Let's have breakfast shall we" he said as he gave one last peck on Erik's cheek carefully pushing him up. Marco put on just some comfy sweatpants and left for the kitchen.

"You can take some of my clothes" yelled Marco as he started to prepare breakfast. He made everything he could in the kitchen, making sure that Erik would have a perfect morning after disappointing him earlier. Marco didn't want leave Erik un satisfied but he was simply too afraid that Erik wasn't ready for this. He was well aware that they had a lot of time and that Erik should get the chance to get used to his new relationship with a man.

"Wow this is really something" said Erik. He had come in to the kitchen wearing similar sweatpants as Marco and Marco couldn't t help his reaction: Erik was still shirtless and he swore that he would never get tired of seeing him like this. Marco's eyes widened and he quickly lowered his gaze sitting to the table next to Erik. They ate a while in silence before Marco hear Erik raise his voice a bit:

"Is there some people who know about us Marco?" Asked Erik looking directly in Marco's eyes with his hazelgreen eyes.

"I haven't told anyone, have you told to someone?" Asked Marco

"I haven't told anyone, I've just talked with Matze that I'm in a relationship with a guy, but he doesn't know it's you" Erik was quick to explain.

"I understand if you don't want to talk about this now, but do you think that we should be open about our relationship" asked Marco a little carefully waiting for Erik's reaction.

"No, it's alright. I guess that we shouldn't let too many people know. I don't want to hide you Marco but with our professions it might be hard to deal with. Though I guess that were both serious here. If you want I think it would be right if we talked with Mats" said Erik

"You're right. We should talk with Mats but I don't think we're in a hurry. We should take our time. I don't want to hide you either Erik, actually I'm planning to tell my family tomorrow. I'm going there after training." Said Marco.

"Honestly Marco I'm a little scared" admitted Erik.

"Me too but I don't want to stay away from you, I simply can't." Said Marco and Erik rewarded him with a weak smile.

"Anyway let's not talk about this stuff now. What are we doing today?"

"Well I was thinking about just cuddling with you the entire day" Marco said as he grinned ear to ear. "If you don't mind of course" he added smiling viciously.

"I definitely don't" said Erik

Marco and Erik cleaned up the kitchen sharing kisses time to time. One time Marco hugged Erik from behind and Erik felt like he could just burst out of happiness.

The rest of the day they did what Marco had promised: they cuddled on the sofa watching movies, later they ordered takeout. Th entire day they had shared kisses and hugs some more passioned that the others. Even though the kisses and hugs had been good and had made Erik more than happy his body demanded for more and eventually in the evening when they were kissing passionately, Marco gave in and slipped his hand under the blankets.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little shorter than some of the previous chapters but I wanted to ad some cute moments between them :)


	11. Telling the truth

They had decided that Erik should go to his apartment to drop his things there and then go to training. They didn't want to raise any more suspicions so Marco would call Auba to pick him up to training. Erik was disappointed when Marco had reminded him that he would have to visit his parents after training but he promised that they would meet each other again in the evening.

Both of them gave their all in training and at the end the whole team was exhausted. That didn't stop Matze for being observant and he saw that Erik had nasty hickeys all over his throat:

"Erik has hickeys, Erik has hickeys" he yelled at the dressing room and so Erik started to chase Matze around the dressing room and Marco surprisingly felt a sting of jealousy in his body.

When Erik and Matze had finally managed to get their clothes on, Matze asked if Erik would like to have lunch with him and Erik decided to say yes. He would anyway have the afternoon to himself because Marco would be visiting his parents.

As soon as Erik and Matze had reached Erik's apartment the questioning began:

"So I suppose you had a second date didn't you?" Ask Matze cheekily

"well good call, yes I did." Said Erik already blushing furiously.

"So you made it to the second base already?"

"Yes" was all Erik managed to say without turning in to a color redder than a tomato.

"oh come on are you going to tell me what happened? I told you I'm curious I won't get disgusted I'm here for you Erik" said Matze

"It's embarrassing" told Erik and buried his head in his hands

"If it's embarrassing I hope you didn't have any ehm, problems with your... You know" said Matze pointing at Erik's crotch.

"Oh god no quite the opposite" said Erik not daring to look up yet.

"Come on tell me what happened" demanded Matze

"well we went to his place and we well, we ended up in his bed and we got undressed and then it happened but we didn't have sex. That's all I'm telling you." Added Erik and barely to look up.

"alright, that's all I needed to know. I just want you to be more open with me Erik, so that if you ever have something to talk about you'll be able to talk to me." Said Matze and Erik relaxed a bit.

"Thank you Matze"

"I'm happy for you Erik really." Added Matze and then they changed the topic.

...

Marco's sister had picked Marco up from his flat and soon they were on their way to Marco's parents place. Marco had been a little nervous the entire ride and Yvonne seemed to notice it:

"Marco's what's going on with you? You seem like a deer in the headlights.

"Yvonne, I'm going to tell them that I, eh I have a boyfriend." Marco chocked out. It was easier because Yvonne knew that Marco was gay, his parents had no idea though.

"Oh Marco I'm happy for you! And don't worry I think that our parents wouldn't mind, plus I think that they have a hunch" said Yvonne cheerfully.

"I hope so too" said Marco right as they were on the door.

They knocked on the door and Marco's mother opened the door and immediately took Marco to her tight embrace.

"Oh Marco I'm so glad I'm finally seeing you" she said as Marco's father also came there to give his son a light hug.

"I'm happy to be here too" said Marco honestly, though he was sweating.

"Yvonne I'm so glad you came too, now let's go eat before the dinner gets cold" said Marco's mother as she pulled two of his children inside straight into the dining room. They ate for a while in silence and talked mostly about what was going on in their lives and Marco was already fearing for the questions to come. The conversation turned to Yvonne's family and what was going on with Nico and then finally Marco heard the question he feared:

"Marco tell me is there a special person in your life?" Asked her mother rather nosily as Marco heard it but Marco also knew that he was going to pull this through now. He had almost told them about Dominic but they had broken up before it was too serious but he knew that it would be different with Erik and that he would have to tell them now.

"Yes in fact there is" he said waiting for further questions.

"Oh Marco that's wonderful, tell us more about her!" His mother beamed. Marco knew that now was his time to tell her. The problem was how was Marco supposed to say it, he was gay, had always been, and that he had a boyfriend.

"That's the problem, eh... Mom, dad it's not a her. Said Marco and didn't dare to look up yet.

"I don't understand, do you have a flatmate? I don't get it Marco." Said his mother and now Marco dared to look up. His mother had a unreadable expression and his father seemed to be even more dazed. Only one who took it normally was Yvonne who smiled tenderly.

"No mom, you don't understand. I... I have a boyfriend." Said Marco after he had gathered all of his courage and then sighed deeply. He looked up once again seeing that his mother had his hand covering his mouth and his father had a rather stern expression on his face.

"Okay" was all Marco heard from his father before he left the room. He just patted once once on Marco's shoulder and then he was off. Marco looked at his father going terrified, not knowing what to do. He knew that his father might not take it so well but he still wasn't ready for this kind of treatment. Marco's mother still had her hand on her mouth but eventually she finally spoke up:

"Marco don't care about your father, I bet he just needs some time to deal with this" she said as she came to hug Marco's shoulders. Marco felt a little more eased but it hadn't really helped. He just wanted to leave now and go to Erik's.

"Marco really don't worry about it, I love you no matter what. To be honest I had suspected this for a while. So please don't you worry about this anymore, nor your father. Would you mind telling me who is your boyfriend and what's he like?" Asked Marco's mother rather curiously now.

"Can we talk about this some other time. Right now I'd really like to go to see him" said Marco not waiting for anyone to say anything he just headed for the door.

"Is he picking you up, Marco it's raining I won't let you go outside to that weather!" Shouted Marco's mother but Marco was already leaving.

"Yes he's picking me up, it's alright mom, I'll call you later." Said Marco. He had partly lied: he hadn't called Erik yet but he did now, before the rain would get him soaking wet. Luckily Erik didn't live far away.

"Hallo" answered Erik immediately as Marco had dialed his number.

"Hallo schatz, it's me Marco. Would you pick me up from my parents place?" He asked.

"Are outside in this weather!? Hold on I'm coming there as fast as I can" said Erik and then he hung up. It was true that he weather was terrible, it was raining and it was windy but luckily Erik was there even quicker than Marco had thought. As soon as Marco saw his boyfriends car he climbed inside. He wasn't even that wet yet but Erik still looked at him worried.

"Marco are you alright ?!" He asked seriously worried now.

"I'm fine it just didn't go so well with my parents I guess. My mom was alright but my dad didn't take it so well" said Marco

"Oh Marco I'm so sorry" said Erik

"Don't be, let's just forget it. Could you take me home so I can take a shower. Then you could stay with me for the night?" Added Marco hoping that the young defender would indeed stay with him.

"I'd love to, now let's get you home" said Erik and began driving. Soon they were back at Marco's place. Erik watched hungrily as Marco changed his clothes to dry ones but he knew that Marco wasn't up for sex right now. He was completely exhausted and just slumped on the bed after he had finished changing.

"Erik come here please" he mumbled and Erik obeyed. He came to lay next to Marco. Marco took him in his arms and Erik purred gratefully.

But Erik had no idea what he was going to dream about.


	12. Dreams come true

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for every one who has been reading my fic, hope you'll enjoy it in the future too :)

Erik suddenly woke up next to Marco covered in sweat. He was at first a little out of his mind realizing that it had only been a dream, Marco's arms were still around him so he couldn't move. Erik felt himself a little awkward because his rock hard steel was very close to Marco's hands and he would notice it if he moved his hands only a little bit and how was Erik supposed to explain himself?

The fact that Marco was constantly snuggling closer to Erik his own half hard manhood pressing eagerly against Erik's butt didn't help at all. Marco was still asleep but if he continued doing what he did unconsciously, Erik would moan and he would wake up.

This went on for about 15 minutes and Erik was hornier than ever. He was about to get up because he couldn't take it anymore when Marco finally woke up.

"Good morning love" he murmured and started to move his hands up and down Erik's chest. He moved his hand only a little lower and he noticed Erik's manhood throbbing against his stomach.

"I'm sorry" murmured Erik and looked at Marco. He could also feel Marco's own cock hardening to full hardness against his butt and Erik sighed a little more relieved.

"Don't be love. May I ask how did this happen?" Marco asked sounding hoarse

"What can I say? You sleeping against me all night, and this morning you started to rub your hard-on against my butt. And I also eh, had a dream." Erik admitted sheepishly.

"Tell me more about the dream" asked Marco while he turned Erik on his back again starting to lay half on top of him.

"We were uh, on the bed and you started to kiss me breathless and then you moved lower kissing me lower... Ahh" Erik didn't manage to finish the sentence because Marco had started to kiss his ear and then moved closer to his jaw and then gently biting his throat.

"Continue, I want to hear more" said Marco and pressed his now rock hard steel against Erik's thigh.

"You kissed me lower until you were at the height of my dick and then you ahh" another moan escaped from Erik's mouth because Marco had started to kiss his way lower now stopping at Erik's nipples. They were already erected as Marco made magic with his tongue. He licked over one gently earning a startled cry from Erik. He continued his nibbling and licking and circling for a while until Erik didn't have patience anymore and took a bunch of Marco's hair on one of his hands.

"And then I blew you didn't I? Asked Marco looking at Erik's eyes. Erik's eyes were dark with lust, his lips swollen because of him biting his lips.

Marco rewarded him with a passionate kiss. Firstly he just pressed his lips on Erik's, then licking his upper lip demanding Erik for letting him in. Erik eagerly opened his mouth aroused as hell. Marco's tongue made wonders in his mouth: his tongue seemed to be able to explore every part of Erik's mouth. Both of them were soon breathless and Erik managed to croak out:

"Yes, you blew me and it was so good, so damn good" Marco groaned as his arousal took over him.

"Let's see if dreams actually come true shall we" he said and started to kiss Erik's other nipple earning another moan from the younger one. Marco took his time though and soon Erik was wriggling on the sheets waiting for Marco to touch him more.

"Please Marco, I'm so hard I can't take it anymore" he moaned as Marco moved to kiss his abdomen closing in on the waistband of Erik's boxers.

"Erik you're so hot when you beg, don't worry I'll satisfy you soon" murmured Marco against Erik's six pack. Marco's hands were on Erik's sides as he moved lower and lower until his head was directly over Erik's bulge. He took a lustfull look of it before he slowly, agonizingly slowly pressed a small kiss on it through the cotton of Erik's boxers.

"Ahh Marco please" moaned Erik as he was bucking his hips up for more friction.

"Hush babe just enjoy now" breathed Marco as he finally freed Erik's manhood from his boxers. Marco took a look of his loved one before he finally took Erik's cock on his hand and started to move it loosely. His hand slid easily because of the amount of Erik's precum. Erik was moaning uncontrollably and Marco could feel that he was very close and didn't want this to be over too quick. Marco moved his hand on the base of Erik's cock and then licked over the pulsing shaft.

"Ahh Marco that's so good" moaned Erik as he was desperate for more.

Marco loved to hear Erik moan his name. The way Erik said Marco's name was almost sinfully too good and it made Marco shiver. He decided that he had teased Erik enough and finally he took Erik completely in his mouth. Marco had almost forgotten how good it felt to have someone's cock in his mouth. Erik's heavy dick was pressing against Marco's tongue and he tasted heavenly.

Erik was completely taken by surprise as he felt Marco's tempting mouth taking his cock in his mouth. It was all almost too much and Erik was ready to come at that place. He was so close but he wanted to hold back because he knew that there was till more to come:

Marco started to move his head up and down making dazzling sounds, and Erik just couldn't look away. Marco was blowing him and looking directly in his eyes and it was by far the hottest thing Erik has ever seen.

Marco added a little more pressure to his sucking and that was all Erik needed to loose it. He was having a hard time not bucking his hips into Marco's mouth and the midfielder noticed his struggling. He pressed his hands so that Erik wasn't able to move his hips anymore and it made Erik even more hornier. Erik was pretty sure that Marco's hands would leave bruises on him but he couldn't care less, he just focused on the sensation on his crotch: his orgasm was building up rapidly and Marco noticed it. He continued with even more force and Erik moaned louder than ever. He wasn't sure if he could come into Marco's mouth but Marco kept on pressing him against the mattress and there was no doubt that Marco could feel that Erik was close so Erik took it as a sign and let go:

"Marco I'm so close, so close. Ahh I'm gonna oh fuck I'm coming" Erik shouted as a storm of shivers took over his body. Erik arched his back as Marco relaxed his throat and patiently swallowed all of Erik's cum. He kept Erik's cock in his mouth until it softened and as soon as he let go Erik's hands were all over him.

"Marco thank you that was glorious" he stated and Marco chuckled pleased with himself. He himself was painfully hard and needed urgent relief but as long as Erik was happy he could wait. They lay there for a while because Erik was spent, but the younger one didn't need a long time before he was back in action. This time it was going to be Erik in charge taking care of the needs of his loved one.

"What are you doing" asked Marco as Erik had gotten up to sit on Marco's lap.

"I'm going to take care of you now. I know that you're afraid that I'm not ready but I am, so you just lay down and I'll take care of the rest" said Erik as he winked at Marco who had a stunned look on his face.

Erik started to kiss Marco's jawline and his throat not for too long because the midfielder was already a moaning mess and painfully hard. While Erik was kissing Marco, he slowly and a little uncertainly moved his but up and down Marco's manhood earning aroused moans from the older one.

"Erik please, more" Marco gasped out as Erik was still kissing his throat.

"Yes baby now relax, you'll come soon" said Erik. He began to kiss his way down Marco's toned chest and soon he reached the waistband of Marco's boxers.

This was the moment Erik had waited for. He had wanted to blow Marco, suck him dry, feel his dick pressed against his tongue. And now wasn't the moment for Erik to hesitate. He nearly ripped the boxers of and there it was. Marco's impressive boner right under Erik's gaze.

Erik wasted no time, he just took the dick in his hand like he had imagined so many times and pressed a kiss on the sensitive tip.

"Oh yes Erik just like that" Marco cried in pleasure.

Erik gathered some more courage and then took Marco's cock in his mouth. At first he only managed to take in the head. He tasted it, savored end the feeling and dared to suck a bit. Marco's moans were becoming more erratic so Erik continued as his throat relaxed more. He was now able to take almost all of Marco's length in his mouth and he was rather proud of himself. He continued to bob his head up and down and if Erik was honest with himself he loved it. He loved making Marco moan, the feeling of his cock inside Erik's mouth was so much better than he ever could've expected.

Erik was really getting into it as Marco took handfuls of Erik's hair in his hands and soon starting shiver under Erik.

"Erik oh god you're so good, I'm going to to cum" he breathed as his hips tried to push away from Erik, but there was now way Erik would let Marco go now: he pressed Marco down to the mattress not leaving the blonde any chance to escape. He now also used his tongue as he sucked and the last piece of Marco's self control shattered and he came with a startled cry:

"Oh god Erik I'm going to ahh" was all he managed to say as he came into Erik's mouth.

Erik had been surprised how good Marco's cock had felt in his mouth like it belonged there, but he was even more surprised when he first tasted Marco's cum and then he felt it going down his relaxed throat. Now that's what was really good.

Erik waited for a while as Marco came down from his high and then let his cock slip out of his mouth. He didn't have a lot time till Marco was taking him in his arms tighter than ever before.

"Erik love that's was so perfect! How did you know how to do that?!" Asked Marco stunned as he kissed Erik's forehead.

"Maybe I was born to do it" Erik snickered not caring to explain how he had really learned how to do it because he didn't have an answer himself.

"I love you Erik so much so so bloody much" said Marco as he once again hugged Erik from behind.

"I love you too Marco" confessed Erik already waiting for the next step in their relationship.


	13. Point proven

Marco's and Erik's morning could have been even more perfect if they hadn't need to get up and go to training. Erik had decided to leave Marco's place a little earlier so that he could back some of his own stuff to take with him to training and then later to Marco's place.

Erik was the first to arrive to the training center, he had just started to change to his kit when Matze arrived.

"I see you had a rather rough night" said Matze as he pointed his finger at the forming bruises at Erik's hips.

"Oh well-" Erik began embarrassed but Matze didn't let him finish:

"Listen you don't have to tell me, besides I bought you these" said Matze as he handed Erik a pink plastic bag. Erik looked at the bag rather curiously and immediately closed it and looked around to see if anyone else was in the locker room after he saw what was in the bag. Lube and condoms.

"God Matze why did you bring them here!" Said Erik at Matze

"Well you're going to need them anyway, and I'm pretty sure you'll be heading to his place when we're finished here. Have you even been home? I know how embarrassed you are with stuff like this and I can't even imagine you going out to buy condoms" babbled Matze and chuckled as he saw that Erik had blushed again.

"Well didn't you think that he would buy these, since he's the one who is going to-?" Said Erik the just realizing what he might have admitted to Matze.

"Well in that case I'm not sure if the condom size is right, but I certainly hope so" said Matze now laughing.

"What's so funny, we're not going to need these soon anyways" said Erik his mood dropping because of his realization.

"What do you mean, I thought you were crazy about each other" said Matze

"We are, he's just constantly worried about me not being ready" answered Erik

"Well if he's unsure about it, maybe you should make him clear that you're ready" advised Matze. Matze had no idea what was really going on, but Erik was grateful that he had talked to him, and in fact gotten him the lube and the condoms. Erik was sure that he would've never gotten the guts to go in and buy lube and condoms, nor was he sure if Marco would buy them.

Silence fell between them but soon enough other players started arriving too. Erik watched as Marco walked in the locker room together with Mats talking about something rather seriously. Erik was wondering if Marco was planning to tell him about him and Erik now, which Erik really doubted.

In the beginning of the session Erik got a slight knock on his right ankle, it was nothing serious but Kloppo still decided that it would be better if they wouldn't risk anything and that Erik would train at the gym for the rest of the session.

Marco had nearly ran from the other end of the field to see what was wrong when he had seen Erik fall on the ground face flinching with pain. Instead he first looked at the direction of Mats, the first captain who was talking to one of the trainers so he hadn't seen the accident. Marco decided that he didn't give a fuck, he wanted to know what was wrong with Erik and after all, he was the second captain.

Marco ended up being relieved that there was nothing seriously wrong with Erik, but also disappointed that Erik would have to leave the training and go inside so that he wouldn't be able to see him.

As Erik was ordered to go, he took a quick shower and then headed for the gym, he had had a small chat with Marco and they agreed that when Marco would be ready, he would come to the gym and then leave from there.

Marco fished as fast as he could, wanting to see Erik again. He had decided to take Erik's belonging with him so that they wouldn't have to go back to the locker room before leaving. When he took Erik's sports bag a pink plastic bag fell on the ground and when Marco picked it up from the ground he accidentally saw what was in the bag. His face went blank as he quickly put the bag back to Erik's sports bag and headed for the gym. Marco wasn't sure if Erik had any intention of using the supplies with Marco in the near future but he still needed a to have the talk he wouldn't have liked to have.

Marco reached the gym finally, Erik was there just in the middle of doing squats and it nearly distracted Marco enough, not to have this talk with Erik.

"Hey love" said Marco because no one else was in the gym to hear them.

"Oh hi Marco" said Erik as he closed the distance between them and hugged Marco gently. As he took a step back he saw the concerned look on Marco face and asked:

"What's wrong?"

"Look Erik when I took your stuff, this pink bag fell on the floor and I, well I saw what was in it" said Marco looking at Erik whose face went pale when he heard Marco speaking.

"Look Marco let me explain-" Erik began but Marco interrupted him

"No Erik it's okay let me just tell you why I'm so worried about our relationship going so fast. It's just that it didn't go so well with my ex boyfriend Dominic, because he pushed me into things I wasn't ready to do. I don't want to do the same to you, I don't want things to go wrong with you" said Marco a little bit more seriously

"Marco I understand you. We shouldn't rush it and honestly I think that we should have the time to get to know each other better. I wasn't the one that to even buy those, it was Matze. You remember how I told you how I've talked to him about my boyfriend? He apparently thought that I wouldn't be able to buy those myself so he bought them for me" said Erik with a chuckle.

"Oh" was all Marco managed to say, because his worries had been stupid after all.

"Don't worry let's just go home" said Erik as he picked up his bag and softly brushed his hand on Marco's and pulled him out of the gym.

Marco felt happy after Erik had just called it "home" instead of your place. He never would've thought that Erik would actually dare to spend nights with him, and now it seemed that Erik hasn't planned leaving anytime soon.

They got back home and Marco made dinner again, this time he made pizza and Erik praised his cooking skills again. Marco felt like he could really get used to this, living together with Erik.

When they were done eating they cleaned up the kitchen and slumped down on the couch. Just when Marco thought that they would finally have some time of their own, Marco's phone rang.

Erik listened carefully at Marco's phone call, he didn't get anything clear until Marco said:

"Alright you can come" and then he hung up.

"What's going on?" Asked Erik a little disappointed already because they wouldn't be able to do what Erik had planned.

"Mats is coming over. Erik would you be okay with it if I told Mats about us now? After all his one of my best friends and the teams captain" Asked Marco taking Erik's hand on his.

"I guess, I am, we'll have to tell him eventually either way" said Erik and Marco kissed Erik's hand.

"Thank you" he said and then they waited for Mats's arrival silently, sharing a few quick kisses.

Finally the doorbell rang and Marco went to open the door. Mats came in, gave Marco a quick hug and then they both came to the living room where Erik was already waiting for them.

"Oh Erik, you're also here, that's good you need to hear this too" said Mats as he already started to explain about their next opponent and their weakest points.

Erik tried to pay attention to what was going on but something was damn distracting: Marco sat with Mats on the couch opposite to Erik wearing a pair of loose shorts. They dropped down so that Erik could see all of Marco's thighs and most of his boxers also. Erik was getting harder all the time and by the time Marco got up and went to get some drinks the midfielders pants have an perfect view of his ass Erik had to look away. When Marco came back Mats had already finished his talk about tactics.

"I didn't notice that you too are such good friends, so you're very close now?" Asked Mats and that was the question both Marco and Erik had waited for.

"Yes, well we are close" said Marco as he came to sit on the other couch next to Erik and took Erik's hand in his. He looked at Erik in the eyes and Erik nodded. Then Marco gave Erik a quick peck on the cheek, still holding their hands.

"Oh umm okay" said Mats clearly not getting the point. Marco read Erik's thoughts and said:

"You clearly didn't get the point" then he gently looked at Erik once again in the eyes asking for a permission to kiss the younger one. Erik nodded again then Marco's lips were on his. The kiss wasn't as passionate as if they were alone, it was short and it didn't involve any tongues but it still got a reaction out of Mats.

"Oh god" he gasped as he nearly chocked on his drink.

"As I told you we're close" said Marco still not letting go of Erik hand. Looking at Mats's stunned face. He looked at Erik, then at Marco, then Erik and then once again Marco before he finally spoke up.

"I, ehh I didn't expect this" he said as he took a deep breath.

"I hope you don't have a problem with this" said Marco now looking directly at Mats's eyes.

"Oh of course I don't, I'm happy for you. I'm just surprised you know. I mean I expected you to be gay Marco, but I had no idea Erik is and that there was something going on between you two." He ended his speech blushing a bit.

"Well now you know and I'm happy that you understand" said Marco.

"I do understand Marco but still I hope that you understand that what ever you have off the pitch can't have any effect on what you do on the pitch, unless it's positive. And I get that if you want to keep this a secret but I think that eventually the team will start suspecting something and then you owe them an explanation." Said Mats now a little more seriously.

"Of course Mats, but I think it can wait" said Marco also seriously.

"Yes of course it can, now I leave you two lovebirds here by yourself, I have to get going" said Mats as he already stood up.

They said goodbyes and Mats promised to keep this to himself. As soon as Marco had shut the door he looked door he took Erik in for a hug and smiled widely.

"That went well didn't it?" He asked as he still embraced Erik softly.

"Mhm, it did but I know somethings that will make you feel even better" said Erik as he pushed Marco against the next wall he found.

"What are you doing?" Asked Marco as he gasped when he hit the wall

"It's your own fault, you got me all horny there and this is your punishment" said Erik. He didn't know if he was any good with his dirty talk, but it seemed to work. Because Marco was already moaning when Erik began to kiss his jaw and move to his neck.

Marco was enjoying himself because hell Erik knew exactly what he was doing. His words had been arousing as hell and now he was kissing all the sensitive spots in Marco's neck.

"Erik please" Marco moaned when he felt Erik's hand under his shirt, just teasing his nipples with rolling his fingers around them almost accidentally. Erik answered his plead by pulling Marco so that he was able to take his shirt off and then his own shirt also. He pinned Marco back against the wall and pressed his own body eagerly against Marco's.

"Oh yes" Marco moaned between their sloppy kisses all about teeth clashing together. Erik pressed their groins together and Marco moaned again trying to move so that he could feel more of Erik's perfect body. Erik didn't give him the chance to do that because he lowered himself so that his head was on the level with Marco's nipples.

Marco had no idea where Erik had learned all this, or was he a natural talent but damn he was so good. He mouthed one of Marco's nipples not giving him any mercy, he licked and bit in a way that could have made Marco come in the spot. Marco's hand was going through Erik's hair and almost instinctively he was pushing Erik down towards his cock.

"Marco you know I'll soon be sucking you off, with my perfects lip and hot mouth around your beautiful cock" said Erik and made Marco moan from the bottom of his lungs. Erik was obviously very pleased with his effort because he chuckled a bit and the dropped down on his knees. The view he got was staggering: Marco looking down at him, biting his lip, his hairs all over his face with his bare chest above Erik, his eyes dark with lust.

Marco himself felt like his manhood was going to rip out of his pants soon if Erik kept looking at him like that. His puppy eyes were dark with lust, lips swollen and glistening in spit because of their kisses.

Erik looked at Marco once more before he opened his belt and unzipped his trousers. He pulled Marco's pants and boxers down with one smooth move and there was Marco's cock again right in front of Erik's face. Erik wasted no time, he was driven by lust himself. He took Marco's entire length in his hand and then licked all of Marco's shaft. Marco groaned in frustration but it turned into a moan when Erik finally took Marco completely in his mouth.

Erik sucked almost forcefully and moved his head up and down Marco's hard manhood not giving Marco any time to get used to the feeling. Marco definitely had some trouble staying on his feet so he leaned against the wall as Erik was pressing him against it.

Marco felt his orgasm coming rapidly and pushing him over the edge. Erik's head made miracles and he looked so damn hot doing Marco right there behind Marco's front door.

Marco lost the last piece of the self control what he had left when Erik hummed with Marco's cock in his mouth sending incredible vibrations through Marco's cock.

"Oh god Erik I'm coming" Marco shouted as he came his feet trembling as shivers of pleasure went through his body.

Erik waited patiently as Marco came down from his high and then finally got back on his feet when Marco pulled him back into his lap kissing him senseless.

"Oh Erik, you're so wonderful" he whispered in Erik's ear as he carried Erik back to their bedroom and gave back the favor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are always welcomed :)


	14. Reuniting

Erik woke up once again Marco curled around him, and happy. They had the most perfect morning, before Erik had to leave. They had a game the following day, so they would spent the next night at the hotel where the team usually spent the night before the game.

Marco was laying down on his bed texting with Erik who was in the other end of the hotel sharing a room with Matze again.

"I'm going to go to speak with Kloppo, so meanwhile you can call him or something" said Mats as he went to the door and shut it before Marco was able to say anything. Though Marco was grateful that he would be able call Erik he wouldn't be sure if he would answer because after all Matze was still probably in his room. The phone beeped only once before Erik answered.

"Hallo, I didn't expect you to call" he said a little cautious.

"Hallo schatz, Mats just left the room to talk with Kloppo and I decided to give you a call. You've told me that Matze knows you have a boyfriend so as long as you don't say my name you should be fine right?" Said Marco.

"Yes you're right" said Erik

"I actually wanted to inform you that Yvonne called me. His going on vacation with his husband and asked if I could take care of Nico. I told her that it would be fine, but with one condition: you'll be staying with me taking care of him, if you want to of course." Explained Marco curious to hear Erik's answer.

"I'd love to" said Erik enthusiastically. He had liked having Nico around. He was sure that they would have a wonderful time together, and he could also show Marco that he was father material.

"Great! We'll have the night after the match to ourselves and Yvonne will bring Nico in the morning. Then he will be with us until the day before our next match."

"I can't wait" Said Erik and something else that Marco couldn't wait came into the midfielders mind.

"Is Matze there?" Asked Marco a little quieter so that Matze wouldn't hear even if I was near.

"Yes, why do you ask?" Asked Erik with a curious undertone.

"It's a shame, you know I'm hear all alone. There would have been so many things we could have talked about" said Marco trying to sound seductive.

"What are you saying with that?" Asked Erik not really sure if Marco was really suggesting what he thought he is.

"I'm thinking about taking my shirt off, it's so hot in here. I wish that you could do the same but it's a shame that you can't" said Marco and now Erik definitely got the point.

"Don't torture me" sighed Erik. Marco could already hear the arousal in his voice but he couldn't help but tease the younger one a little more.

"Actually it think I'm going to take my pants of too, their getting too tight" Marco said as he sighed seductevely.

"Please you don't want me to get into an embarrassing situation, do you?" Pleaded Erik.

"I guess I won't" Marco laughed. "Good night schatz, I'll be dreaming about you" Marco added.

"I'll be dreaming about you too. I love you" said Erik

"I love you too" said Marco as he ended the phone call.

Meanwhile in Erik's room Matze looked at Erik curiously as he finished the call.

"Not a word" Erik warned as blushed.

"Since when did you get so cheesy" laughed Matze

"It's not like you aren't like that with your girlfriend" noted Erik

"Yeah, right but still. Anyway tell me more about him" asked Matze

"What do you want to know?"

"Well what's his name, what does he do, what does he like...?" Matze let the questions hang in the air. But what was Erik supposed to answer?!"

"Well his a little older than me, he has blond hair, he likes football as well..." Erik said, not answering many of Matze's questions.

"Has he come to see our matches?" Matze asked and it seemed that he had ignored the fact that Erik hadn't for example told him Marco's name.

"No, but I guess he has seen them" lied Erik because honestly he didn't have an answer.

"Will you introduce us?" Asked Matze sounding a little too curious.

"Maybe, can we just go to bed please, I'm exhausted" Erik said suppressing a yawn.

"Yeah, right you just want to start dreaming about him already" said Matze but turned off the lights. And Erik did start dreaming about Marco, just as Marco dreamed about Erik.

...

The match ended 2-1 to Dortmund. It was a hard fought match and all the players were spent after the match. Marco and Erik showered and then they were once again on Erik's car on their way to Marco's.

When they got there, both of them just felt like they wanted to slump down on the bed and sleep until they had to got up when Nico would come. But after all, they were both young men with hormones going crazy so they ended up jerking each other off before going to bed.

They were waken up the next morning by Marco's alarm, which he had barely remembered to set before they fell asleep.

"Oh not already" groaned Marco as he switched his phone off and snuggled back closer to Erik.

"Marco, we have to get up, Nico is coming" said Erik reluctantly. He loved having Marco's arms around him, but he knew they had to get up.

Marco kissed him a few times before they finally got up. They hadn't even had time to have breakfast before Yvonne was already behind the door.

"Uncle Marco" Nico shouted as he ran in and Marco took him in his lap.

"Hi Nico, but look uncle Erik is here also" said Marco and pointed at Erik's direction  
"hi Nico" said Erik and waved at Nico once again. Nico was a bit shy but eventually waved back.

"Thank you Marco for taking care of Nico. I hope that he doesn't disturb you. And Marco, I hope that you two will keep it down, I mean try not to have so much PDA in front of him. I hope you understand." Said Yvonne.

"Of course I do Yvonne, now go to your holiday" said Marco. He didn't seem to mind about Yvonne's words about not being close around Nico and nor was Erik he understood it. It was just going to be hard.

"Than you Marco, I'll get Nico in five days." Said Yvonne while he blew a kiss to Nico and then left.

"So Nico, what do you want for breakfast?" Asked Marco still holding Nico in his arms.

"Pancakes!" He shouted cheerfully and both Marco and Erik laughed.

"Pancakes it is. Would you like to play with uncle Erik while I make them?" Asked Marco. Erik looked a little worried but luckily he had no reason to.

"Yes!" Shouted Nico and then he and Erik were off with the bag of toys Yvonne had brought with her. Marco made the pancakes and heard shouts of joy coming from the living room and he was glad. After shouting that breakfast was ready, Erik came back to the kitchen carrying Nico on his shoulders and Marco visibly relaxed when he saw that they got along well together, so Erik would be hopefully staying with them.

"So you still want to stay?" Asked Marco when they were done eating while Nico was still eating.

"Of course, I will Marco." Said Erik and took Marco's hands in his.

"Though it's a shame that we really can't go further than this" said Marco looking at they're hands.

"I know, but you know when Yvonne will pick Nico up I don't think I'll be able to keep my hands away from you for a week" whispered Erik so that Nico couldn't hear and made Marco gasp. But the words that Erik had just said made the week go by at least a dozen time faster.

The following days for very much like the others. Every day they made went to training, took Nico into a daycare, after training they picked him up again and the rest of the day they played with him. At the end of each day they were completely spent and after they had gotten Nico to his bed they just snuggled close to each other and didn't let go the entire night. As promised, they didn't kiss, or even hold hands when they were around Nico. They only shared a good night and good morning kisses, because they were always either on public or around Nico, and when they were in their room sleeping they both agreed that they probably couldn't stay silent so they didn't go any further than kissing.

The morning when Nico was supposed to be picked up by Yvonne both Marco and Erik were happy, because they would have a late afternoon session so they would have time for themselves. Even though they were happy when Nico was around both of them were glad that they'd finally have some time of their own.

They had just finished having breakfast when the doorbell rang. Erik had gone back to the kitchen to do the dishes when Marco was trying to make Nico drink the rest of his orange juice but Nico was already running towards the door spilling some of the juice he had on Marco's shirt.

"Nico, stop it don't run!" Shouted Marco as he took off his shirt and then went to open the door.

"Mama" Nico shouted as he saw his mother behind the door and Yvonne took him in her arms

"Thanks Marco for keeping good care of him" said Yvonne while giving Marco a weird face because Marco was shirtless.

"What, he spilled some juice on it" said Marco raising his hands in the air to show her his innocence.

"Yeah right, well I'll leave you two alone now, but I think you should still speak to mom and dad, I think they would appreciate it after all what happened" she said with a wink and then left. Marco knew that Yvonne was right, he should talk with his parents again but now was not the time for it: he was finally alone with Erik.

Marco made his way back to the kitchen where Erik was still washing the dishes and as he heard Marco entering the room he raised his gaze and dropped a plate on the sink splashing water all over his white shirt making it see through.

Marco looked at Erik, whose white shirt just got see through and he couldn't suppress a moan. Erik's nipples and six pack was clearly visible. When Erik noticed Marco's lustfull gaze he blushed and he really had to chuckle:

"Is this a plot of some sort of a bad porno movie"

"Oh Erik this won't be bad" said Marco as he approached Erik and hugged him from behind, leaving no space between them.

"Oh god, you're so hot" said Marco as he pushed himself even closer pushing Erik against the sink.

"Mhmm, Marco" Erik mumbled as he felt Marco's hard on pressing against his butt. Marco's hands were now under Erik's shirt making wonders to Erik's nipples. Erik couldn't keep himself from moaning and pressing his butt against Marco.

"What if we move to the bedroom" said Marco his voice hoarse.

"I'd like that" said Erik breathlessly but Marco was already pushing him to his bedroom. They reached Marco's bed but before Marco let them lay down on it, he pulled of Erik's shirt and the rest of his clothing expect his boxers.

Erik watched Marco hungrily as Marco started to pull down his pants. Marco struggled a bit because of his obvious bulge and Erik moaned when he finally was done and pulled Marco in for a passionate kiss. Both of them groaned when their naked chests touched and their erections brushed together.

Erik wasn't really sure at what point of the kiss he lost his footing but at one point he noticed that he was laying on the bed on his stomach. Marco was lying half on top of him kissing his neck and earning needy whines from Erik.

Marco moved so that he was no completely lying on top of Erik, his manhood pressing eagerly against Erik's butt. He kept on kissing Erik as he almost absent minded started to move his hard manhood against Erik's butt crack and Erik kept on moaning even louder.

"You like this don't you?" Asked Marco hoarsely. He was so turned on by Erik's needy moans and he was also relieved that Erik enjoyed having his ass handled.

"Fuck yeah that's so good Marco" Erik moaned as he arched his back so that Marco would be even more tightly pressed against him.

Erik's sensations were overwhelming. Marco's dick pressing against him felt so good: he was desperate for more. At first when Marco moved away so that he could kiss his way lower he felt dissatisfaction but soon enough Marco's other hands was massaging his butt.

Erik focused on the sensations he felt: Marco's tongue was leaving wet patterns at his skin as he was slowly moving lower. Erik was painfully hard but he was also a little insecure when Marco's were already at his lower back, his other hand never leaving Erik's butt. He was insecure but one thing he knew for sure: he wanted Marco to touch his butt more, almost shamefully too much.

Soon Marco reached Erik's boxers waistband and gently pushed his fingers under it.

"Can we get this off?" asked Marco gently still not doing anything.

"Yes Marco, please" answered Erik breathlessly

Marco didn't waste his time, sensing that Erik was a little uncertain about himself. He pulled down Erik's boxers revealing his love's perfectly round ass.

"Oh love you're so beautiful" he whispered and Erik relaxed a bit. He still felt very exposed, yet he was still so aroused and every time Marco touched Erik's butt electric jolts were sent through his entire body.

Erik felt that Marco spent a little more time massaging him, and eventually Erik relaxed under his touch.

Marco then gently parted Erik's cheeks and felt Erik tense a bit. He was though sure that he could make Erik feel heavenly. Erik had clearly enjoyed this a lot until this point and then Marco kissed both of his butt cheeks softly before parting them again.

"Just relax" Marco whispered and Erik did. He then pushed his tongue in the crack and licked there until he found Erik's entrance and kissed him there. Marco was very aroused himself and as he heard Erik moan he relaxed even more and started to circle his tongue around Erik's entrance.

Marco continued licking Erik's entrance and Erik was so fucking aroused. He knew that he liked having his ass touched but for Erik this was very near heaven. He was embarrassed how much he liked being touched there but there was nothing he could do to stop himself, so he just surrendered to Marco's touch.

He felt his orgasm building up and when Marco pushed his tongues so that it was a little inside Erik's hole, he felt his manhood aching almost harder than ever.

"Marco ahh, I don't know how long I'm going to last" he managed to say between his moans.

Encouraged by Erik's words, Marco was now nearly fucking Erik with his tongue wanting to make Erik come. Hi decided to make his efforts even better by slipping his hand between the mattress and Erik's belly to take his cock in his hands.

Erik was super hard and as Marco started stroke Erik, Erik felt that he couldn't last it any longer. He came with a loud cry, shouting Marco's name his orgasm coming in as a bunch of shivers making him moan without any shame and slump down on the bed on top of the mess he had already made on the mattress. As Erik came down from his high he was very sure that Marco was laying next to him drawing smoothing patterns on his skin with his finger but Erik was so embarrassed. He had no idea what to do so he just stayed there taking deep breaths not knowing what to do.

A little while had passed and Marco was starting to get worried. He had waited for Erik to come down from his high but something was wrong. Suddenly Marco was afraid if he had gone too far.

"Erik are you alright" he asked voice full of concern

"Yeah, I am, I'm just so so embarrassed" confirmed Erik rolling back on his back so that he could look into Marco's eyes.

"Embarrassed why?" Asked Marco a little more relieved

"I don't know it just feels awkward that I enjoyed it" Erik sighed.

"Oh you don't have to be awkward. You have no idea how hot I think that is that you enjoyed it and I just thought that you might like it as much as a blowjob and that's why I did it" said Marco as he took Erik in his arms again not caring about the mess.

"Well Marco I loved it" said Erik and smiled at Marco.

"I knew you would, and maybe next time I'll use something else than my tongue" he whispered in Erik's ear and Erik giggled.

"Now let me use my tongue on something" said Erik as he got up and got rid of Marco's boxers. He took Marco's manhood in his mouth with such eagerness and passion that Marco was going to burst at the spot. This time when Erik blew him he looked at Marco's eyes and Marco felt his orgasm coming fast because he had already been close before Erik and started to blow him.

Now it took just a wink of Erik's eye to make him come and Marco came with a scream, shooting his load at Erik's mouth.

After Marco was back on his senses, he once again took Erik in his arms not panning to let go anytime soon.

"Erik don't you dare to feel awkward lever again. You're the most precious person I've ever met and I love you from the bottom of my heart. Don't ever question it.

You're perfect just the way you are" Marco ended his speech and closed his eyes to smell Erik's sweet sent from the back of his neck.  
"Marco I love you too, please don't ever leave me" Erik whispered back.

"I promise you Erik" said Marco. Just as Marco was about to fall asleep again Erik punched him gently and reminded him that they should take a shower and get ready to go training soon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little longer chapter than the previous ones I hope that I'll be able to upload more chapters soon :)  
> Tell me what you think, and what do you think I should write in the future :)  
> Your feedback and kudos keeps me motivated and makes writing a lot easier ! Thank you :)


	15. Blacking out

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my God a 100 kudos thank you so much !  
> Every comment and kudos is keeping me motivated to keep on writing thank you again :)

Marco and Erik took their time in the shower, not ready to let each other go yet. Eventually they had to leave to training and training went mostly well though now both Marco and Erik felt that Mats was looking at them more carefully.

When Marco and Erik were once again on their way to Erik's place to get Erik some more clothes, Erik's phone rang.

Marco listened to the phone call, not really getting the point, all he got that it was someone from Erik's family. Erik hung up and started to explain to Marco:

"It was my sister Lisa. She was calling to me because apparently I haven't been giving her enough attention lately" Erik chuckled. "She wants to visit me now, would you like to stay?" Asked Erik.

"Of course I would. Though are you planning to tell her about us?" Asked Marco holding one of Erik's hands in his.

"I guess it would be a good way to start, I mean I'll have to tell my parents at some point too." Said Erik while he sighed.

"You don't have to if you don't want to" said Marco fearing that he might have pressured Erik.

"No Marco, I do want to tell them. Even if they would take it badly, I wouldn't give a shit as long as I can be with you" said Erik even though he was very nervous. But honestly the truth was, as long as he could stay with Marco he could face anything.

Marco just smiled at Erik feeling relieved. He didn't really care about the fact that some people knew about his relationship with Erik, because he had realized that he really loved Erik from the bottom of his heart.

"You're really okay with telling some people about us?" Asked Erik a little insecurely.

"Yes Erik, I don't want to hide the happiness you bring me. As long as the press doesn't find out we'll be fine" answered Marco squeezing Erik's hand and making him calm down.

When they were at Erik's apartment Erik was nearly jumping up and down because of his anxiety. Marco did his best to calm him down but he wasn't very successful because when Erik heard the knock on his door he jumped at least three feet in the air. He took a few deep breathes before he opened the door

"Hi Lisa, nice to see you" said Erik politely as he embraced his sister. Marco was waiting in the background, he didn't want to push it, Erik would represent him when he was ready.

"Erik, I'm so glad to see you finally, we haven't seen in ages!" Shouted Lisa as he embraced his brother back. Then she saw Marco in the background:

"Well you could have told me that you have guests! Hello I'm Lisa, Erik's sister, and you're Marco Reus" she said politely as she shook Marco's hand.

"Nice to meet you" was all Marco said. When all of them entered the living room Marco was a little more relieved because everything seemed to go well: Erik's sister was nice, they made small talk without any problems. The only problem was Erik. His palms were sweaty and his cheeks flushed. He was clearly anxious and Marco felt bad for him. The situation got when Erik's sister said:

"Well Erik since you've been single so far I've found you a date, or unless there's a special someone who you've been spending all this time with" she said and Erik went paler than ever.

"Uh yes there's someone" Erik said as he blushed.

"Well tell me more about her!" Demanded Erik's sister curious. When there was a silence she seemed to understand something and added: " or about him"

Erik gaze shot up to his sister, he looked at her with wide eyes and mouth hanging open.

"How did you know" he said quietly almost whispering.

"Oh Erik, I'm not stupid you know, I'm you sister I've been living with you almost my entire life. Of course I've noticed how you've never had a girlfriend, and you've always looked after boys and looked awkward when our parents have been asking about our relationships." Explained Erik's sister as she put her hand around Erik and Erik visibly relaxed.

"So you're fine with it?" Asked Erik just to be sure.

"Of course I am! Now tell me more about you're boyfriend, I hope his decent!" She once again demanded and Erik shot his eyes to Marco's and Marco sensed that now it was his time to speak up:

"Well I hope I'm decent" Marco said and looked at Lisa who seemed to be shocked for a while before she finally spoke up:

"You really, Marco Reus, you're my brothers boyfriend?" She asked.

"Well yes" said Marco as he gave a quick peck on Erik's cheek.

"Well you're more than decent!" Shouted Lisa and then came to embrace Marco. They continued talking about their relationship and Lisa and Marco got along well. Soon Erik relaxed so that he was almost back to normal when it all came crashing down:

"I can't wait to hear our parents reaction" Lisa said excitedly.

"What do you mean?" Asked Erik tensing again.

"Well after your match tomorrow, they demanded that you'd come to eat with us. I already promised them that if I'd catch you I'll make you come with me" stated Lisa.

"Do you think I should tell them" asked Erik already tense.

"Yes, I think you owe them an explanation too. And I think they'll take it greatly don't worry." Said Lisa.

Erik didn't seem the relax the entire evening and when Lisa finally left they had managed to agree that Lisa will wait for Erik after the match and then they'll drive to their parents. As soon as the door was closed Marco took Erik in his arms.

"That went great love" said Marco as he kissed Erik softly.

"I wish it will go well with my parents also" whispered Erik.

"Try to relax and remember you don't have to tell them if you don't want to" said Marco and pulled Erik with him to Erik's bedroom.

"Just let me get you a little more relaxed" said Marco as he started to kiss Erik and Erik was more than eager to continue and after Marco had satisfied Erik, he made sure that Marco found his release as well. Erik felt that he definitely had the best boyfriend on the planet. Though just when the moment could not have gotten any better, Erik remembered that they had to got to the team hotel and off they were.

...

After the match, Marco felt like he was on cloud number 9. He had scored two goals and Dortmund had won 4-0 scrolling past Mainz. In fact the whole team was happy expect Erik. He was shaking and Marco had tried to calm him down the best he could, but it didn't make much difference.

Lisa had picked Erik up as arranged and Erik had let Lisa drive, he currently didn't trust himself enough to drive. He was super nervous and it did show, Lisa just apparently wasn't observant enough and kept on talking about how their parents would react.  
"I can't wait to see dad's face when he sees Marco and realizes that's the man fucking his son" Lisa giggled.

"Lisa please that's not funny!" Erik noted but Lisa continued her teasing regardless, and when they were finally at their parents door Erik almost wish that he could, just disappear, but he had told himself that now was his time to tell them , then it would finally be over.

Their parents welcomed them excitedly and they didn't make it further than the hall when the questioning already started.

"So Erik Lisa told us that there's a special someone keeping you from seeing us so often these day" said her mother

At this point Erik was sure that he would faint and he felt that he couldn't breathe. Every person of his family was looking at him and he felt pressure building in his body.  
"Yes, isn't there Erik?" Said Lisa and that's when Erik lost it. He felt his feet trembling and he fell on the floor and after that it everything went blank.


	16. Worried sick

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my, over a 2000 views :O  
> Thank you so much for everyone who's been reading :)

Marcel had given Marco a ride back to his home. Marco wasn't going to let him go though because he had some other plans. Marcel had always been a more organized person and this time Marco needed his help.

"So what are you planning?" Asked Marcel as they entered Marco's apartment.

"Well, you know Erik's been spending a lot of time here lately and he's always been brining his stuff here and back, I just thought that it would be nice if I would clean up some space for him in the cabinets." Said Marco grinning wickedly.

"Oh so it's that serious between you two?" Said Marcel and Marco couldn't believe his ears.

"Of course it it, why would you think it isn't?" Said Marco disbelievingly

"I just didn't think so, he clearly loves you but I didn't think that you're in love with him, at least you don't let it show so well" said Marcel.

"Please I love him from the bottom of my heart, what do to think I should do to let him know it?" Asked Marco a little bewildered. Did Erik believe that he loved him?

"Well I think that this will help at least a little bit" said Marcel as he already started organizing Marco cabinet so that about half of the space would soon be free for Erik's things.

As they were done, they had both slumped down on the couch and opened bottles of beer, Marco's phone rang. It was an unknown number and Marco wondered who it might be because usually he knew everyone who has his private number.

"Hallo" Marco answered carefully, if it was going to be another reporter he would hang up immediately.

"Hallo it's me Lisa" said a concerned voice and Marco was on his toes.

"Lisa, why are you calling me is everything alright?" He asked already taking a hold of Marcel's shoulder fearing for the worst.

"Look, there's really no easy way to say this, but Erik is in the hospital. Apparently he fainted and then he hit his head. The doctors say that he might have a slight concussion and a cut in his head. His alright now but I still wanted to give you a call." Said Lisa and Marco felt that his heart had just missed a million beats. Marcel looked at him concerned because he was paler than a ghost and gripping his shoulder like no tomorrow.

"No, no, no, no, no, I'm coming there right now!" Shouted Marco to the phone a little aggressive as he hung up and then he was already ripping Marcel off the couch.

"What's going on?" Asked Marcel

"Erik's in the hospital, he has hit his head, please Marcel you have to take me there!" Marco pleaded. He was so terrified, he just wanted to get there as soon as possible and make sure that everything was fine with Erik.

The entire ride to the hospital Marco pleaded Marcel to drive faster and when they were finally at the hospital Marco just ran through the doors only stopping to ask which room Erik was in.

He reached the room and nearly broke the door as he pushed through. He stopped immediately as he saw Erik, laying in the bed looking like he was asleep. Marco's hand flew on his mouth and he couldn't suppress his emotions. He felt tears forming but then fe felt someone crashing on him. It was Lisa hugging him tightly.

"I'm so sorry I was the one who caused this" she said

"Tell me what happened I'm sure it isn't your fault" said Marco becoming a little braver for Lisa.

"We had just arrived to our parents and I guess that I was kind of pushing him to tell them about you. Then he fainted and fell in the floor and hit his head" she sobbed.

"But he's alright isn't he!?" Asked Marco concerned again.

"Yes he is, he just needs to spend the night here under control" she said and Marco relaxed a bit.

"Where are your parents?" Asked Marco suddenly looking around

"After this happened I explained them the situation. They came by car, they were here for a while until they had to leave. I promised to stay here and keep the updated about Erik's situation." Lisa said and Marco was actually glad that he wouldn't have to face Erik's parents. Lisa yawned against Marco's shoulder and Marco promised her that he would stay here with Erik and then take him to his place. Lisa didn't want to leave but Marco knew that she would eventually fall asleep and there wasn't space for both, Marco and her on the room, so Marco pushed her to go. Marco also wanted to have some time alone with Erik and when Lisa eventually left and Marco dragged a chair next to Erik's bed so that he would be able to stay there the entire night, just waiting that Erik would wake up. Marco was crazy of worry but at one point of the night he finally fell asleep on the chair holding Erik's hand in his.

...

Erik opened his eyes and he realized that he was in an unknown place. He blinked a couple of times before he realized that he was in a hospital and that his head hurt a bit. Slowly the memories of last night came back in his mind and he groaned. He looked around and when he saw Marco his eyes flew open.

"Erik are you alright?!" Marco gasped already standing up

"Yes, uhh what happened?" Erik asked wanting to be sure

"You fainted and hit your head, the doctors say that you had a slight concussion" said Marco, still not letting go of Erik's hand.

"Oh yeah, now I remember. Where are my parents and Lisa?" Erik asked looking around.

"Lisa had told your parents that your fine so that they wouldn't worry that it was their fault. I told Lisa off because she was awfully tired. She wanted to stay but I thought it would be best if she would go and there wasn't room for both of us in this room" said Marco and Erik looked at him in awe.

"You stayed here the whole night?" Asked Erik stunned.

"Of course I did, oh god I'm so happy that you're alright Erik. Promise me you'll never scare me like that ever again" Marco pleaded as new tears formed in his eyes. Erik was overwhelmed by Marco's feelings. It seemed that the blonde really cared for him and Erik felt so cared, and so loved but then he groaned as he felt a sting of pain in his head.

"What's wrong?" Asked Marco sounding scared again

"Nothing, I just have a small headache" Erik said and he was going to touch his head but Marco blocked him.

"No don't touch it, let's call the nurse" he said and then went out and brought a nurse with him. The nurse gave Erik some painkillers and did an overall check on him. Luckily Erik was fine and he would be able to leave in a couple of hours as long as somebody would look after him the following day and he'd take it easy. Marco had listened him carefully and asked what he should do through every detail.

When they were finally able to go they were lucky that no paparazzis had noticed them not in the evening nor this morning.


	17. Taking care

When they finally arrived to Marco's home the midfielder had been ready to carry Erik all the way but Erik had refused, not wanting to embarrass himself completely and reassuring Marco that he was fine.

"are you sure you're alright?" Asked Marco and he was nearly carrying Erik inside, most of Erik's weight in his arms.

"Yes Marco I'm fine, don't worry. Just let me get on the couch" said Erik a bit tired, if he was honest with himself. Marco gently helped him sit down, and then lay on his back.

""Are you sure your fine now, do you need anything just tell me" said Marco. Erik and something that he really wanted but he didn't dare to say right now.

"I'm just a bit hungry" he said instead.

"I'll call Marcel, he'll surely bring us some food" said Marco. Really not wanting to leave Erik's side.

"Marco please I will be fine. You can go and get the food yourself, I'll wait here" said Erik needing some time to make a phone call.

"Are you sure you'll be fine?" Asked Marco once more but he was already at the door. Erik told him off and sighed. He reached for his phone and called the number he knew he would get advice from.

"Hallo" answered Matze's familiar voice. And Erik began telling him the entire story of what had happened, except for Marco's name of course. He talked with Matze about his feelings and the way he felt Marco might feel for him.

"I'm really so touched that he cares so much about me" said Erik as he nearly burst into tears.

"Of course he cares about you Erik, you're a wonderful person" said Matze  
"Please tell me some romantic stuff that I should do" asked Erik desperately wanting to prove Marco how much he loved me.

"Well... Uhh I guess that you could give him a special evening or something but there's a thing that would really prove your love and trust for him" said Matze and Erik could hear that he was grinning at the other end of the line.

"Which is?" Asked Erik cautious

"Well if you haven't already had sex with him now would be the time I mean you've been together for a while" explained Matze a little more seriously

"That's what I've wanted! But he keeps on thinking that I might not be ready for it" Erik groaned.

"Show him that you're ready. And Erik are you really ready for it, I mean it's quite a big thing are you sure he's the right one?" Asked Matze. Erik couldn't almost believe his ears. He knew Marco was the right one but suddenly he was suspecting himself. Was he really ready?"

Erik's thoughts were interrupted when he heard someone turning a key on the lock.

"Matze he's coming back I'll call you later" said Erik quickly as Marco already came inside.

"Are you still alright?" Yelled Marco from the door.

"Yes I'm here" yelled Erik as he put his phone back in his pocket and still lay on the couch. He was really feeling fine already, and even better now when Marco was around. He was surprised how much just hearing Marco's voice raised his mood and made his heart bumping in his chest.

Marco came from around the corner hiding something behind his back.

"What do you have behind your back?" Asked Erik interested. He was still laying on his back on the couch and Marco was still standing in front of him.

"Just something for you. I really love you Erik and you need to understand it." Stated Marco as he pulled his hand in front of Erik. He was holding a bunch of red roses, the flowers that Erik loved the most.

Erik's feelings took over him. He just looked at Marco's loving eyes and the grin he had on his face that Erik loved. All the love Erik had for Marco was now catching Erik and he felt tears forming in his eyes: he just loved to be treated like this. A few weeks ago he had felt that nobody gave a shit about him and now the person he adored the most loved him back. He raised himself so that he was sitting on the couch, Marco still looking at him and then giving him the beautiful flowers and Erik felt the emotions taking control over his body.

"Erik is something wrong?" Asked Marco as he saw that Erik was now crying, trying to turn his eyes away from Marco. Marco sat next to Erik and took Erik's face in his hands to look deeply in his hazelgreen eyes.

"Erik please tell me what's going on you're giving me a heart attack!" He said taking Erik in his arms rocking him back and fort gently. Marco was terrified about what was going on why on earth was Erik crying, this was not the reaction he had expected when he had taken Marcel's advice to show his love to Erik.

"Thank you Marco" sobbed Erik against Marco's neck leaving wet marks on his shirt.

"Erik tell me what's going on I don't understand." Pleaded Marco a little more relaxed.

"Marco, you've made me feel so special. I really really love you and I can't imagine my life without you anymore. Before you came in my life, I felt like my life didn't make any sense, there was no light in my life. Now I feel like I've come back to life. You brining me roses, just made me feel that you care about me and that is so beautiful." Erik spoke now raising his gaze to look at Marco whose eyes were full of concern.

"Schatz, don't you realize that now you're the most important thing in my life. You mean the world to me! Of course I love you so much that you can't understand it. Today Marcel told me that you might not realize that I love you and that I need to show it more. I feel so silly now, I should've shown you that I really love you! You are worth more than anything to me, and you'll always be" Marco ended his speech and kissed Erik before he could answer.

Marco kissed Erik with all the love he had. Firstly he just pressed their lips together but soon he demanded Erik to open his lips and Erik obeyed. He accepted Marco's tongue and he sighed softly as Marco entered Erik's sweet cavern and caressed every part his tongue could reach. Again, their position was rather awkward but this time Erik surprised Marco by straddling him before Marco had any time to react.

"What about dinner" said Marco as he was breathless and he remembered the food he had left in the kitchen. He didn't want to say it because he felt his own arousal pressing tightly against his trousers and Erik's hard on pressing against his thigh.

"I'm hungry for something else now Marco" said Erik as he dropped down lower in an attempt to open Marco's pants. Some sense in Marco's mind made Erik stop.  
"No, Erik let's go to the bedroom" he breathed as he got up to his shaking legs and then without any thinking he took Erik in his arms and carried him like a princess to the bedroom.

Erik smiled like and idiot and continued kissing Marco's neck as Marco lifted him up like he was as light as a feather. Erik couldn't her but enjoy himself: he felt so right in Marco's lap, like he belonged there.

They ended on Marco's bed where Marco was at first undressing Erik and Erik just surrendered to him until he was completely naked. Marco made short work on his own clothes and soon he was on top of Erik, moaning as their naked bodies crashed together, their hard cocks brushing together.

"What do you want me to do to you Erik?" Asked Marco hoarsely. Erik wasn't going to answer him now. He was hungry for Marco and in one strong movement he moved them so that now Erik was on top of Marco straddling him once again.

"Talk dirty to me Marco. Really dirty. Don't be worried that I will get insulted, because I won't" Erik said hoarsely moaning in the end because Marco was massaging his but once again.

Marco gasped as he heard Erik's words. He was slowly starting to realize that Erik might be well a bit wilder in bed than he had thought.

"Oh Erik your so hot, when your like that all needy for my cock" Marco said very aroused himself.

"Yes just like that" said Erik as he started to kiss his way lower to Marco's nipples, stopping there to lick them and then moving to Marco's abdomen.

"Oh Erik I love your sinful lips on my body" Marco remembered to speak up again.

Erik rewarded him with with a peck on each part of his six pack and then moved lower and all Marco could do was gasp when Erik closed his dick in his mouth.

"Oh Erik you love my cock don't you, you're such a cock lover" Marco said as he lost all of his barriers. Erik hummed pleased against Marco's cock and Marco screamed in pleasure.

"Oh my Erik you look so sexy" Marco said as Erik looked up and winked at him. That was all Erik needed to use all his skills, and make Marco come faster than ever.

"Oh God Erik, I'm coming fuck" Marco shouted as he arched his back and came hard in Erik's mouth for a time that seemed several minutes.

Erik relaxed while Marco came back from his high. He was so hard that it was almost hurting, but he loved every moment he made Marco moan in pleasure and his cock in his mouth. Erik was also glad that he had made Marco lost some of his barriers talking dirty to him, and it had been so arousing.

The young defender suddenly felt two strong arms around pressing him against the mattress making it impossible for him to move.

"Now don't you dare to do anything. I'm going to show you exactly how I love you" said Marco and then he began to kiss Erik. All the defender could feel was Marco's lips all over his body kissing him senseless and Erik just melted into his touch. Marco's agile tongue drew countless patterns on his skin and finally his hands were under Erik's butt, pressing there slightly and Erik moaned for more touching.

Marco moved his head lower and lower until he was above Erik's cock. Marco moved his hands along Erik's crack and there he finally reached Erik's entrance and started to circle his middle finger around it, not pushing it inside.

Then Marco began to lick along Erik's shaft and soon after he took Erik in his mouth, caressing his hard member, making Erik shiver and moan.

"Marco I won't last long" warned Erik as he felt every part of his body burning and his orgasm building up fast.

Marco made his efforts even stronger and Erik lost the last piece of his self control and came hard, lost in Marco's touch. He shivered and arched his back, shooting his load deep in Marco's throat.

Marco gave Erik time to come down from his high and then took him in his arms and cuddled so that he was hugging Erik from behind and he purred pleased.

"Do you now see that I really love you. Not only for the amazing sex that we have, I love you also as a person" confessed Marco. "You're the most beautiful person I've ever met and will ever meet. I think we belong together Erik, and I'm very serious about this. Be sure that you can ask me anything, whenever wherever. Trust me with anything you'll ever need." Marco added.

"Well there's actually one thing" Erik began, not able to finish the sentence because of his embarrassment.

"Anything love, anything" whispered Marco and gave Erik's neck a kiss.

"I want to sleep with you Marco. For real" said Erik and turned so that he could face Marco. Marco was looking at him eyes still filled with love and then he gently brushed Erik's cheek with his palm.

"Are you sure?" Marco asked gently just to be sure.

"Yes Marco. I love you and I trust you. I want to be yours. Will you please make me yours?" Asked Erik with pleading wide eyes, something that Marco couldn't resist.

"All right I will take you Erik. But when it is the right time. I want it to be perfect for you" said Marco as he kissed Erik again.

"But soon right?" Asked Erik smiling as he blushed.

"You really can't have enough, can you?" Chuckled Marco gently as he kissed Erik.


	18. Anger and happiness

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for all the support I've had while writing this, every comment and kudos means a lot !  
> Hope you all will enjoy this in the future too ! :)

The afternoon was still young when they finally got our of bed. Marco wanted to finally eat the food he had brought with him earlier. As they ate, Marco was busy giving Erik loving gazes and watching him blush.

Both of them snapped when Marco heard his phone ring. He took a quick look do the caller.

"It's my father" he said to Erik who dropped his fork.

"Hallo" he answered with a biting tone in his voice: he hadn't yet forgiven to his father. If he wasn't okay with him being gay he could just forget about Marco.

"Marco, listen. I'm sorry about my reaction last time. Really I want to talk with you, would you please come to our place. Your mother has been worried about you also." Said his father.

"I really have no intention of coming" said Marco not really wanting to go.

"Marco please. Come on just come here for an hour or two and then you're free to go. I'll pick you up soon" said his father probably trying to sound sincere.

"Fine" said Marco taking the offer and hanging up

"What is it?" Asked Erik.

"I have to visit my parents. I suppose I owe them an explanation. My mother is worried" said Marco as he put his plate to the sink and gave Erik a quick kiss.

"Are you sure you'll be fine?" Asked Marco once again just to be sure.

"Yes I am. How long will you be gone?" Asked Erik already feeling sad about having to be without Marco.

"Just an hour. I'll be back as soon as I can I promise" said Marco while putting his shoes on.

"It's alright, I guess I should call my parents too" said Erik sighing.

"I love you" Erik told Marco just before he left.

"I love you more" said Marco as he closed the door.

Marco's father was already at Marco's drive way when Marco got out. He reluctantly made his way to his fathers car, just wanting to get this over with.

"Hello Marco" his father said as he already began to drive.

"Hello" was all Marco said. He wasn't really in a mood to speak with his father alone. He was going to wait until they would be back at his parents place, so the rest of the drive they were both silent. Marco sensed that his father didn't want to talk about his "situation"

They entered Marco's parents apartment and Marco was immediately welcomed by his mother's tight hug.

"Oh Marco I'm so glad your okay, I was worried that you might have taken it worse" she said.

"I'm fine mom" sighed Marco.

"Well the reason I wanted to bring you here is that your father has something to say" Marco's mother answered as she let go of his son and they sat on the couch.

"Yes I did. I'm sorry for my reaction Marco. It's just that I've always imagined that you would find nice girl and marry her. It doesn't matter to me that your gay" he said but Marco could hear that he wasn't completely honest.

"Well it's just kind of the same thing. I've just found the man I love" Marco confessed.

"Really, do you love him?" Asked Marco's mother and once again Marco couldn't believe his ears.

"Why does everyone keep doubting that! I love him. He is mine and I'm not going to let him go" shouted Marco.

"Alright darling I believe you. Just tell us more about him, we're curious" his mother questioned in a caring way.

"Well you know who he is" stated Marco.

"Really Marco you are dating another celebrity?! How could you, what if the press finds out!" His father no shouted standing up. And Marco didn't want to hear it any longer.

"What do you care about! It's my career that would be in line, it has nothing to do with you. I'm happy with him. He makes me happy. I love him and he loves me. I bet that you just can't take it that I'm loving a man!" Shouted Marco red faced.

"Okay okay calm down. This didn't quite go as planned. I'll take you home Marco" said Marco's mother as he took Marco's arm and led him out of the door.

In the car they were both very silent until Marco's mother finally spoke:

"I'm sure your father didn't mean it. I bet he's just afraid what you will go through if someone finds out about your relationship. Could you tell me who is he, Marco please. I'm your mother, you know I love you." Said his mother. Marco was lost in his thoughts for a while before he answered:

"It's Erik mom. He plays for our team" he said as he unbuckled his belt. He was eager to see Erik again.

"That's wonderful darling. Now go to him" said his mother as she saw lights on at Marco's apartment.

"Thanks mom" said Marco as he embraces his mother quickly and races inside.

He flew the last steps but stumbled a little bit with the lock but eventually managed to open the door.

"Erik I'm home" he shouted already excited running to the living room expecting to find Erik there.

"I'm here" Marco heard a distant voice probably coming from his bedroom so he headed there. He was already scared before he entered the room.

"Oh God Erik are you alright" said Marco as he saw Erik lying on the bed in a curled position apparently holding himself tight.

"Yes I am. Don't worry, I just felt a bit light headed and to be honest I'm not used to sleeping without you cuddled with me." Erik confessed and blushed. Marco felt that his heart was about to burst as he closed in the distance between them and cuddled agains Erik again, snuggling closer to him.

Erik relaxed visibly in Marco's arms. And snuggled closer to Marco.

"Marco why is your closet half empty?" Asked Erik sounding worried.

"It was a surprise to you. You shouldn't have seen it" said Marco gently as he kissed Erik's neck.

"I'm sorry I was just looking for a shirt of yours" said Erik as he blushed.

"What's there to blush?" Asked Marco amused.

"I was just looking for something that smelled like you, I missed you even though you hadn't even been gone for a long time" confessed Erik.

"Oh Erik, you're so precious. I love you so much. I promise you that tonight you won't get rid of my smell" said Marco as he began to kiss Erik.

"But why is the closet half empty?" Asked Erik trying to suppress his will to forget the question.

"Well, you've been spending here quite a long time lately and I thought that you might want to... Stay with me here" say Marco a little worried that Erik might actually recline his offer.

"You mean like move in?" Asked Erik his face sparkling.

"Yes" was Marco's simple reply. He didn't have time to react before Erik's lips crashed on his.

"Marco that means so much! Of course I'll move in with you! Come on let's go and get my stuff!" Erik said enthusiastically but Marco didn't let him move.

"No, you're not in condition to drive yet. Let's go tomorrow after training okay?" Said Marco. Erik just nodded in response and began to kiss Marco breathless.


	19. Promising

Erik was a little tense when they were on their way to training, and Marco seemed to notice it:

"Erik are you okay, you seem a little tense" stated Marco as he brushed his hand on Erik's thigh soothingly while Erik was driving.

"It's just that well don't you think that everyone will start noticing that we're closer and that we always come to training together?" Worried Erik looking at Marco quickly, keeping his eyes on the road.

"Erik I understand that you're worried. I just don't want to hide you and honestly I don't care, just let them think" said Marco

"Really you don't care if someone finds out?" Asked Erik face sparkling.

"Of course I don't Erik, I love you and I won't hide you. If there is someone not liking the fact that we're gay they can just go and fuck themselves. I just think that we should wait until we're ready to come out, you know. But if it happens then it does" said Marco and Erik think he understood. And he would have no problem agreeing with Marco, they should take their time but if they'd get the opportunity they wouldn't hide their relationship.

"Which reminds me, do you want to tell Matze?" Asked Marco.

"Yes actually I do, if you don't mind?" Asked Erik just to be sure.

"Of course I don't mind Erik. I wanted to tell Mats, you should tell Matze." Said Marco as he smiled tenderly.

"Thank Marco. Just let me tell him in my own way, I kid of want to give him a revenge." Erik chuckled as he imagined Matze's face.

...

Mario and Erik finished training and Erik's plan to tell Matze about them was really going to happen because Matze had some sort of an interview and Marco and Erik decided to wait for him so that there would be nobody else around when they would tell him.

Eventually Matze came back to the dressing room where Erik was waiting for him. Marco was waiting outside the dressing room in the hall. It was all a part of Erik's plan, Marco had laughed when he had heard about Erik's plans and had done what Erik had asked. Not it was all up to Erik to make his revenge.

"Oh you're still here?" Asked Matze surprised as he saw Erik waiting for him.

"Well, you remember how you asked me to introduce you to my boyfriend? Now would be the time for that. Just take your stuff and we'll go" said Erik as he saw Matze's face light up in anticipation.

"This wonderful, I'm glad you want him to meet me." Said Matze patting Erik's shoulder and taking his stuff.

"Now promise be nice. I don't want to be in an awkward situation again" said Erik quite seriously now, even though Marco had laughed when Erik had told him about how Matze had been asking him about his relationship.

"Of course Erik. I just want to meet him. He seems to make you so happy." Said Matze as they were walking out of the room. Erik winked at Marco as Matze stopped for a while.

"Oh hi Marco" hi simply said when he just casually walked past him leaving a laughing Erik behind him. He turned around to look at Erik.

"What?!" He asked stunned.

"Actually we're not going any further to meet him" said Erik as he turned to Marco and gave him a big kiss showing his tongue in Marco's mouth in front of Matze's stunned figure. Marco clung to Erik and the kiss was very intimate. Erik eventually took pity on Matze and stopped the kiss only to have a look of Matze's face.

"What. The. Actual. Fuck." Was all Matze said as his mouth was hanging open and he stared at Marco then at Erik and then back to Marco.

"Well now you know I guess. But keep it to yourself will you?" Asked Erik still holding on to Marco.

"So all the times we've talked, you've been talking about-"

"Marco. Yes. I just didn't want to tell you because I wasn't sure in the beginning, would we end up being together and well this is difficult for both of us. We can't let our relationship be out in public yet." Said Erik seriously.

"Of course I won't tell anyone. I'm just a little shocked that you actually managed to get Marco" Matze laughed and he was back to his normal self. Erik punched him on the shoulder and laughed as well when Marco joined the laughter.

"Anyway congrats, you make a beautiful couple" as Matze left sensing that Marco and Erik wanted to be alone.

As soon as Matze was gone, Marco began kissing Erik and it was on becoming heated.

"That went well, didn't it?" Said Marco as he pulled away from Erik, they couldn't do what Marco wanted them to do here.

"What, ehh it did" said Erik as he came back to earth.

"Maybe we should have dinner with Matze and Mats sometime" said Marco.

"I'd love that" said Erik smiling at him. He would really like to have dinner with them, showing them that Marco and him were really a couple.

...

And Marco and Erik really were a couple. When they got home they watched TV, cuddled, cleaned and did all the stuff Erik had wanted to do with someone for such a long time. They cooked dinner together, now Erik helped Marco also.

After dinner Marco was laying on the couch going through his phone while Erik was holding his waist his head on his chest.

"Did you notice that the barbecue Kloppo talked about is going to be tomorrow?" Asked Marco looking at Erik. Erik opened his eyes.

"Oh shit, were you sleeping?" Asked Marco feeling bad that he had woken Erik up.

"No, I wasn't. When is it?" Asked Erik as he moved so that he was sitting next to Marco, putting his arm around his shoulder.

"Yes, we'll train but then will have time. Seems to be that it's such a fine event we have to wear suits" explained Marco.

"Well I can't wait to see you in a suit" Erik grinned and looked at Marco who had aroused immediately.

"You know what I can't wait to see you without any clothes" said Marco as he attacked Erik with kisses. Though this time they weren't going to make it to the bedroom as Erik wasn't going to let Marco go. He had something else in his mind. He straddled him in no time not leaving Marco anytime to react.

Erik took his shirt off and did them same to Marco colliding their naked chests and moaning. He dropped himself lower while Marco was still laying on the couch taking Marco's hard manhood in his mouth without any warning. Marco moaned loudly as Erik sucked for a while but then stopped.

"What if we take a shower then?" Erik panted as he let go of Marco's cock and stood up only to pull Marco with him to the bathroom.

Marco was a bit surprised at first but when he came back to his senses she saw Erik undressing himself, but he wasn't going to give him the pleasure.

Erik was such a hot thing to see, hair all tousled and pupils dilated with lust. Marco attacked him nearly ripping the rest of his clothes off his body. Marco had realized that Erik might be up to something a little wilder so he used force, not caring to be so gentle as he pushed Erik to the shower.

"Don't you dare to move now Erik, your mine. Understand?" Said Marco and Erik moaned in response as Marco pushed Erik against the cold tiles and opened the water.

Hot water surrounded them and Marco pushed himself even closer to Erik. Erik could feel Marco's hard steel pressing against his sensitive but and he whined for more touching. The water made it slippery and Marco gently started to move his manhood along Erik's crack leaving Erik panting against he wall.

"Oh fuck yeah Marco that feels so good" Erik panted against the tiles as he arched his back to feel Marco more.

Marco was courageous about Erik's words and slipped his hand between Erik's body and the wall to close his hand around Erik's hard cock. The young defender gasped in surprise as he felt Marco jacking him off in erratic movements without any hesitation. Erik was at the point of coming as he already arched his back moaning breathlessly but then Marco stopped. He held Erik cock tightly in his hand, not allowing Erik to come.

"Ahh Marco please" said Erik. He felt unbearable pressure and pleasure in his body. Marco kept on holding him tight.

"Erik remember that you're mine. You've been a good boy, maybe I'll let you come now" said Marco and finally started to move his hand around Erik's cock again.

Erik's sensed that he wouldn't be lasting long. Every part of his body felt the need to be touched. After Marco had held Erik from coming Erik's felt every touch more, he was over sensitive and only after a couple movements Marco made with his hand Erik came hard, harder than ever screaming Marco's name.

After he came back to his senses he hugged Marco who was still standing behind him drawing soothing patters on Erik skin.

"Marco thank you that was fucking good, so arousing" thanked Erik.

"You liked it that way?" Asked Marco chuckling.

"Fuck yeah" said Erik but then he realized that Marco was still very hard against his stomach so Erik dropped on his knees only to look at Marco.

"Marco I want you to fuck my mouth" he said with pleading eyes, he really wanted Marco to do it. "Don't worry, I want it. Marco please" he pleaded.

Marco looked at Erik with wide eyes only to step closer to him when Erik opened his mouth and then he pushed the head of his cock in Erik's hot and wet mouth. Marco started with gentle movements but he wasn't going to be able to go on like that for a long time. Erik's wet hair and wet face was too much to handle and soon Marco was fucking Erik's mouth with erratic movements chasing his release which wasn't far. Erik began humming again sending vibrations through Marco's impressive length and that's all it took for Marco to come. He gripped Erik's hair tight as he came nearly loosing his balance. Erik got back on his feet to hug Marco's still shivering body tightly.

"Oh Erik, I'm sorry I just can't handle it when you want me as bad as I want you. I'm sorry if I was rough" confessed Marco as he buried his face to Erik's neck.

"Marco I like it rough. You can't imagine how hot it was for me" confessed Erik as he already felt his cock hardening again.

Marco only purred against his neck enjoying the warm water still running down both of their bodies. He felt so close to Erik and he though about the one thing that he could do with Erik to make them even closer.

"Erik, I will take you tomorrow. I won't be rough, I want to be as close to you as I can. And I will finally make you mine so that you won't ever leave me" said Marco and Erik shivered in anticipation.

"Please Marco. I want to be yours" said Erik as he began kissing Marco again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the support once again and as you can see we're getting closer to THE moment...


	20. Loved

The training went flying as all the players were excited about the dinner tonight and nobody seemed to notice the fact that Erik and Marco kept looking at each other almost the entire time and at one point when nobody was watching Marco even slapped Erik's ass.

They were both clearly anxious about tonight, especially Erik. Marco had promised to finally take him. He was a little nervous though he knew that with Marco it would be absolutely perfect.

They were getting ready for the party when Marco was looking at Erik who only had his boxers on while he was putting on his socks. Marco's love for Erik overwhelmed him again and without any warning he hugged Erik from behind beginning to caress his chest whit his hands. He also began to kiss Erik's neck absent minded.

"Marco we're never going to make it to the party if you keep on going like that" panted Erik taking Marco's hand in his and lowering it to the bulge in his briefs.

"Oh Love, I can't wait for tonight" said Marco but eventually let Erik go. Erik's cheeks were blushed and he had trouble putting his pants on now. Marco helped him a bit chuckling because he himself had the same problem. They were finished dressing up a bit late because they stole kisses from each other time to time.

The party itself went wonderful. Erik couldn't have been happier, he had fun and a special evening waiting for him when he would finally get back home with Marco. After the dinner they had Kloppo had asked Marco to give a small speech and Marco had accepted the offer. Erik waited excitedly about Marco's words:

"Thanks for this wonderful season so far" Marco began. "I've had fun and so has the entire team. I'd like to thank everyone at the club for everything they've done. Especially one person" said Marco now looking directly at Erik's eyes. "I'm not going to tell that one person's name because I'm sure that the person I'm talking about knows what I mean" Marco continued and Erik felt like his heart was about burst out of his chest. "Anyway echte liebe and let's make this season an even better one" Marco ended his speech as he raised his glass and the room applauded.

Marco made his way back to were Erik was standing with Mats and Matze. The young defender's face was literally sparkling when he saw Marco smiling at him.

"Okay, so I guess that it's going on fine between you two" said Mats as he smiled at the two lovebirds.

"Yes it is. I'm happier than ever" said Marco and if they weren't where they were, Erik would've attacked him with kisses immediately. Instead he just put an arm around Marco's shoulder.

"Aww look at you two being all cute, come on Mats let's go before we'll be the third wheel" said Matze as he gripped Mats's hand.

"Yeah, let's go but Marco, tell Kloppo soon he deserves it" said Mats seriously as Matze was pulling him towards some other players.

"We will tell him soon, don't worry" said Marco not really wanting a further conversation with Mats. Luckily Mats and Matze left and they were left alone.

"I love you so much" breathed Erik as soon as there was nobody around to hear them.

"I love you Erik, there you heard me say it. You've made me so happy" said Marco as his eyes got wet because of his emotions.

"You have no idea how much I want to kiss you now" breathed Erik desperately.

"How about will have dessert then?" Said Marco and made a wicked expression.

"What, I thought that there was no dessert here- oh" Erik was interrupted by his own thoughts as he realized that he was probably Marco's dessert.

"Let's go home shall we?" Asked Marco heading towards the exit and Erik followed him eagerly.

Marco first put on his jacket and Erik was about to put his coat on but he didn't have the chance to do it because Marco was keeping the jacket open, helping Erik to get it on, like a true gentleman. Erik felt happier than ever, he wouldn't mind being treated like this the entire night.

They decided to walk to Marco's apartment because it wasn't too far away. They walked close to each other, they're bodies nearly touching. One time as Marco had left Erik walking a little more forward than him he had seen how Erik's ass was just swinging in front of him he couldn't help but give it a squeeze. After that they had nearly ran to Marco's apartment.

As soon as the door was closed Marco turned to Erik and began kissing him. He was more tender than before, he gently pressed they're lips together then biting a bit on Erik's bottom lips. The defender gasped and Marco took the opportunity to push his tongue in the younger ones mouth without any hesitation.

Erik meanwhile put his hands around Marco's waist and pressed they're bodies even closer together. The midfielder took Erik's face in his arms and tilted it so that he could deepen the kiss and push his tongue in further to feel every inch of Erik's mouth.

Erik was becoming inpatient and started to undress Marco getting his jacket off in the process. Marco did the same to Erik never leaving his mouth.

"What if we move to the bedroom?" Asked Marco gently. Erik just nodded not able to form a word. He was suddenly very scared and anxious because it was actually happening. Marco was going to fuck him. He wasn't sure whether he was afraid of the fact that it might hurt of the fact that he wouldn't be good enough, after all he had never had sex before. Luckily as soon as he landed on the bed he only became aware of Marco's touches forgetting his worries at least for a while.

Marco slowly began to undress Erik, firstly getting rid of his tie, then his shirt and finally his pants and socks, so that Erik was lying there naked in front of him, his hard manhood pressing eagerly against his stomach.

Marco looked at Erik directly in the eyes. He could see that Erik was a little embarrassed laying there completely exposed while Marco himself was still dressed. He undressed himself quickly and covered Erik's body with his.

He began to kiss Erik, making sure that the younger one felt his unconditional love everywhere before he would have sex with him.

Soon the younger one was pressing against Marco wanting to feel him more and Marco sensed it. With a strong move he moved them so that Erik was now laying on top of Marco. Erik didn't seem to mind it, he took advantage of his new position to start kissing Marco's neck while Marco reached for the nightstand to get what he was looking for. Erik's lips were damn distracting but he found what he was looking for and Erik tensed only a little bit when he saw the bottle of lube on Marco's hand.

"Hush baby, it's going to be fine. I'll try to put a finger inside you, it will probably feel weird at first" Marco said as he felt that Erik was afraid.

Actually Erik wasn't afraid of the fingers because he knew that if Marco would do it correctly it would feel heavenly.

"Marco ehh, even though I've never slept with a man before, that doesn't mean that I haven't been touching myself there" Erik admitted sheepishly and pressed his face to Marco's neck so he wouldn't see his embarrassment.

"Oh love" Marco whispered. He was so aroused by Erik's words and his cock throbbed happily against Erik's stomach.

Marco squeezed some of the cool liquid on his fingers and reached for Erik's entrance which he found immediately. Marco didn't see a sign of fear in Erik's gaze so he gently pressed one finger agains Erik's entrance and circled around it calmingly.

"It's alright Marco, I trust you" admitted Erik looking at Marco with loving eyes. He pulled Marco to a kiss and when they where both lost in the kiss Marco took his opportunity and slipped one finger inside Erik.

"Ahh, yes that's good" moaned Erik. It really seemed like the younger one enjoyed this more than Marco thought, so he began moving his finger inside Erik, till kissing him with all the passion in him. They continued like this for a time that seemed everlasting as Erik was already whining for more. The midfielder noticed Erik's moans and need so he tried adding a second finger and Erik resisted it a bit more than the first one.

Erik felt a bit pain as Marco pushed his fingers in and out of his core but he soon became used to the feeling wanting even more. That's when Marco's fingers pushed in even deeper than before and Marco hit a small spot inside Erik which nearly made Erik see stars: his entire body felt an electric shock that felt so good, so fucking good that Erik moaned very loud.

"That feels good right?" Asked Marco just to be sure that it was a shout of pleasure not pain.

"Yes Marco more please" pleaded Erik as he pushed himself against Marco's fingers. The midfielder now began to scissor Erik so that the defender would feel minimal pain when Marco would enter him.

Marco mercilessly hit Erik's sweet spot and each time Erik relaxed more and moaned louder, Erik was already pretty wide and Marco himself was painfully hard so he decided to try to enter Erik.

He withdrew his hand from Erik's entrance and Erik gasped because of the lack of touch.

"I'll now try to enter you Erik. I'll be careful, don't worry" Marco whispered in Erik's ear and gave him a quick kiss before he reached for the condom to put it over his hard length quickly and then added some more lube.

Erik watched Marco eagerly his body aching for Marco to take him. He rolled on his back and let Marco cover his body, trying to take deep breaths to calm down.

The midfielder watched Erik intensively as he covered his body with his and took his cock in his hand to press it against Erik's entrance. The younger one visibly gulped and Marco kissed him once again with all the passion he had as he slowly and carefully pushed the tip of his manhood inside Erik's core.

Erik felt instant pain and pleasure at the same time. Marco just waited there still as the defender gasped because of the feeling of Marco's hard steel inside his body was simply overwhelming. He felt so good, but at the same time he felt sharp pain because of the stretching.

"Your doing fine love, I know it hurts" said Marco as he drew smoothing patterns on Erik's cheeks.

"More" was all Erik croaked out. He knew that Marco wasn't still completely inside him and that the feeling would be better when he would be filled completely.

The midfielder obeyed Erik's order and carefully pushed himself until he was nearly balls deep inside Erik's body and he had to moan himself.

"Oh God, Erik your so tight" he moaned as Erik stopped biting his lip. He was now Marco's, he felt absolutely perfect like this. The older one was still and let Erik get used to the feeling of having him inside him and eventually Erik did. The pain slowly faded away and all he could feel was a little burn, which wasn't too bad and Erik found it even pleasurable.

"Please Marco move" he panted as he wanted Marco to hit his sweet spot again. The midfielder carefully pulled out and then pushed back inside Erik's body a little deeper than before. He heard Erik's strangled cry of ecstasy and he knew that he had hit Erik's sweet spot.

"Yes Marco please exactly there more!" Erik shouted and Marco began to take an even rhythm of thrusts as he felt that Erik's walls slowly lost their tension. Marco felt so damn good, Erik was so tight around him and he knew that he wouldn't last long.

Erik himself felt so amazing, Marco thrusted into his sweet spot with every movement and he didn't feel painful at all. All he could feel was pleasure in a torturous rhythm and Erik wanted and needed more.

"Am I allowed to move faster" asked Marco before Erik could say anything.

"Yes Marco please, harder, faster" he panted as Marco began to thrust even deeper, harder and faster than before.

Erik couldn't hold back his moans anymore, his senses took over him and soon he was a moaning mess. Marco's thrusting to his sweet spot made his body feel incredibly good and he was sure that he would be coming soon very hard.

Marco's pace increased and there was nothing left in Erik's self control anymore.

"Oh Marco, I think I'm going to, oh god I'm so close! Oh God I ahh" all he could do was scream in pleasure as his vision went bank for several seconds and the most intense orgasm he had ever experienced took over his body. He arched his back as a storm of shivers captured his body and he shot his load between their bellies.

Marco could feel how Erik's walls tightened around his cock and all he could do was to follow Erik over the edge as he felt the most perfect orgasm he had eve had take over his body and he crashed on top of Erik's body.

Both of them panted for several minutes as they came down from their high.

"Oh Marco that was... Wow" was all Erik managed to say

"That was definitely wow. Thank you so much for your trust Erik" said Marco as he kissed Erik in the most loving way he ever could. He pulled out of him and reached for a towel, cleaned up the mess and then took Erik in his arms.

"That was absolutely wonderful, I have no words to describe myself. I love you so much Marco, so much" said Erik and all Marco could do was to be astonished how on earth did he ever manage to deserve this wonderful human being be his.

"I love you Erik" he said and smiled as the fell asleep together, more bonded than ever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you've enjoyed this fic and I will continue writing this, maybe I won't be able to write in such a fast pace because I'm quite busy at the moment but I'll definitely continue !  
> Thanks so much for the feedback for everyone !  
> Also if you want me to write something in specific I'll be glad to give it a try :)


	21. More

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So some more intimate moments between Erik and Marco, I just had to write it ! :)  
> As always thanks for all the support :)

Erik slowly woke up the next day opening his eyes, only for a while because the moment he sensed that Marco was still curled around him he shut them again just to savor the moment.

Marco's breathing was heavy against Erik's neck and Erik purred in delight. He began to remember what had happened last time and he couldn't help but smile, feeling like he was the happiest person on earth. Marco had made love to him, in the most sweet and passionate way imaginable and Erik truly felt that Marco was his, and he was Marco's.

After all those moments of sadness, and being felt unwanted were now gone and he felt like someone truly loved him, the way he loved Marco. He sighed out of happiness and decided to try to show Marco his love for him.

He hated to leave Marco's lap but in order to make him breakfast he had to leave his side reluctantly and got up slowly so that Marco wouldn't wake up and put on his boxers.

He was walking through the hall when he heard a weird buzzing sound coming from a stand close to the door and he realized that it was his phone vibrating. Someone was calling him, and when he looked at who the caller was he saw that it was his mother and that he knew had to pick it up.

"Hallo" he answered quietly almost whispering, though he was pretty sure that Marco wouldn't hear him.

"Oh Erik, good morning. I'm glad you answered how is everything going sweetie?" Asked his mother in a caring tone.

"Yes, everything is good mom" was all Erik told her.

"Are you in a hurry?" Asked her mother because it was quite obvious. When she usually called her son Erik would be a lot more talkative, but not now when he was in a hurry to make breakfast for Marco.

"Yeah, eh, I have to go to training soon" said Erik even though they wouldn't have training in several hours.

"Well then I won't be bothering. I was just wondering if you could visit here, after the game you have next. We would very much appreciate it, and it would be nice to talk to you after all what happened" asked her mother and Erik couldn't say no.

"Yes I'll come but I have to go now" said Erik a bit hastily, because he was too eager to go and wake Marco up in his own special way.

"Okay sweetheart good bye, see you soon" said his mother and hung up before Erik had any time to answer probably sensing that Erik was busy.

When Erik actually made it to the kitchen, he started to look for the toaster and other supplies for quite a long time as he finally found what he was looking for he bend down and nearly dropped the toaster when he heard someone groaning behind him.

"You just gave me the best morning" said Marco as he walked to Erik hugging him from behind his already hard cock brushing against Erik's but.

"It was supposed to be an even better one, I was going to make breakfast" confessed Erik getting harder instantly as he felt Marco's hard on pressing eagerly against his but.

"Oh this was just perfect. I woke up, and began to look for you and here I see you my handsome chef, wearing an apron just small enough for my liking" said Marco emphasizing the word my, as he tucked his hand under Erik's boxers waistband.

Erik moaned as he wanted to feel Marco more totally forgetting about the breakfast.

He turned around so that he would face Marco and as soon as he managed to get a look of Marco, the midfielder took his face in his hands to kiss him forcefully and passionately. All Erik could do was give in to the kiss and feel Marco as their cock were pressing against each other eagerly throbbing in need.

"Oh Erik, oh God I need you so much" Marco confessed his voice incredibly hoarse and raw, kissing Erik's neck definitely marking him with countless hickeys but right now Erik couldn't have cared less.

"Then take me Marco" Erik moaned already eager to have sex with Marco the proof of his arousal painfully hard in his boxers.

"Aren't you sore?" Marco panted helplessly because at the same time Erik and slipped his hand in Marco's boxers taking his painfully hard steel in his hand.

"No Marco, you did everything last night so perfectly! Please take me again, and don't be afraid, I won't get hurt" said Erik as he was already pushing Marco back to the bedroom, not waiting for an answer.

Before they actually made it to the bad Marco manhandled Erik so that he took of his boxers and dropped down on his own knees and then without a warning he took Erik deep in his mouth and Erik nearly lost his footing.

"Oh God Marco" he gasped and panted as Marco blew him with such intensity.

"Please Marco take me, if -if you continue like this we won't make it that far" panted Erik helplessly as he felt that he was already at the brink of coming.

Marco chuckled pleased with himself and got back up, at the process of removing his boxers completely. Erik managed to get a quick look of the midfielders eyes, almost black with his lust and unreadable love before Marco pushed him on the bed. Marco watched a while of the vision of his beautiful boyfriend laying there naked in front of him, completely his before he covered his own body with his.

He didn't waist time anymore, he simply reached for the drawer and took the condoms and the lube. He was lining the hard rubber over his length when Erik's hand stopped him and Erik did the work for him. Marco felt so aroused, he wanted and needed Erik so bad and fast. Erik also added some lube on his hard length before he left his cock and laid himself on the bed, waiting for Marco to do his part.

Marco took some line in his fingers and pushed one inside Erik, who didn't seem to need much preparation because he was still wide of last night. He moaned in a needing way to Marco's touches in a way that Marco decide to add a second finger and start scissoring him, giving pressure to his sweet spot time to time.

"Marco... Aahh" the younger one pleaded as he was close, so close that he would come very soon if Marco wouldn't stop.

Marco understood because he was already painfully hard, watching his boyfriend like that made him almost come, and so he positioned himself over Erik pressing the tip of his cock against his entrance. He didn't sense any resistance from the younger one but he slowly but securely pushed his way inside Erik's needy core taking him with one single thrust.

Marco watched Erik who was smiling and beaming, with his eyes closed and Marco took it as a sign that he wasn't in any pain. He began to move, driven by his own unbearable lust and soon he was thrusting in an erratic speed chasing for their release.

Erik moaned as he felt Marco reach his sweet spot with every thrust and then he raised his legs and crossed them behind Marco's back. He felt every single thrust deeper and he soon became undone under Marco's body.

Marco watched Erik as he tensed and screamed and then came all over their bodies. That's all Marco needed to find his release coming instantly, feeling his incredible climax taking over him in an evident way.

Both of the two young men panted heavily and waited to get back to their senses.

"That wasn't really how I planned this morning" chuckled Erik finally kissing Marco's neck in a loving way.

"How come?" Asked Marco a bit surprised.

"You've pleased me in the most incredible way twice. Next time is my turn to make you crazy with need and lust" said Erik.

"Actually you already did that, is there something wrong that I like seducing my boyfriend?" Marco chuckled and Erik laughed.

They lay there for a while like that before Erik heard Marco's stomach grumble. He pulled them into a shower and had breakfast. Pity that they had leave to training soon.


	22. What's promised is promised

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Over 3000 views on my God ! :)  
> Thank you for all of the readers and motivators once again!  
> It has been a real pleasure to write and I will continue as soon as I can, I hope to update again during the weekend :)

Marco and Erik actually made it to training in time, much to their own surprise because their shower had turned out to be rather long and during the entire breakfast they had fed each other taking a long time to enjoy their perfect morning.

Marco had demanded that they would go to the training together even though Erik had been telling him that it's okay for him if they were more cautioned about letting people know about their relationship.

As Erik parked on his usual spot, he raised his gaze and saw Marco looking out of the window directly into Kloppo's eyes. Erik looked at him with his expression a mixture of fear and confusion. The coach looked at them for quite a long time before he eventually walked away.

"What was that?" Gasped Erik as their coach had finally disappeared out their view.

"Well, he has never probably seen us coming to training together and to be honest I think he has a hunch of what's going on, after all he knows all of us nearly as good as his own pockets. And Erik, I'm so sorry that I didn't tell you, but he actually knows that I'm gay. A few years ago, I didn't have my finest moment and I told him, so now he knows." Marco said

"So you think he knows that were together?" Confirmed Erik looking at Marco

"I'm not sure, but as Mats said, we should let him know, don't you think? Asked Marco with pleading eyes.

"Of course we should, he deserves it. Do you want to tell him after training?" Asked Erik a little cautious

"I think we should, but aren't you angry that I didn't tell you earlier? Asked Marco scared, reassuringly taking a hold of Erik's hand before they got out of the car.

"Of course I'm not Marco. It's okay really" informed Erik with honesty. With those words, they decided to head to Kloppo's office after training, but it ended up that they didn't need to.

Just as they had finished training they were going to walk to the dressing room when they heard Kloppo's firm voice:

"Marco and Erik, could you come here for a moment please?" He said waiting for them on the benches.

Erik looked at Marco with a little freight but Marco's look made him forget his worries as they approached their coach.

"Listen, I'm not going to make this a big thing, but there's something going on between you two, right?" Kloppo said pointing at the young couple. Marco looked at Erik, who just smiled a bit lightly and nodded for his approval so that Marco had the courage to tell their coach.

"Yes, we're together" informed Marco, not a bit of hesitation in his voice. Erik watched as their coaches face expressions changed a bit and then he broke into warm smile.

"Well I, happy for you two. I can see that your both happier and improving your connection on the pitch." He said as he patted both of their shoulders.

"So, you don't mind about us?" Erik had to ask.

"Of course I don't. Only that you have to understand that this is quite unusual and that you have to be careful. Of course, if you decide to come out it's up to you but I think that you should really consider it. And what comes to the team, I don't think that my opinion matters really, but I think that for our team spirit it would be better if you told anyone before they start finding out one after another" the coach said and then left, leaving Marco and Erik there with their mouths hanging open.

"Whoa" was all Erik managed to croak out when he looked at Marco who had a small smile at his face.

"What do you mean whoa, that went well didn't it" said. Marco as he put his hand around Erik's shoulder and started to pull them to the dressing room.

"It did, I'm just impressed" said Erik genuinely feeling happy about Kloppo's reaction and the way it had went.

"Kloppo's a fine man" said Marco wistfully and Erik was left wondering what he meant with that.

...

Marco and Erik were eating dinner that day, talking about their next game against Leverkusen, when Erik remembered to tell Marco about his plans to see his parents.

"This morning my mother called me. She wants me to spend the night after that match tomorrow at their place, I guess she wants to go through this situation" said Erik as he sighed.

"Well that's wonderful isn't it? Asked Marco smiling tenderly at Erik.

"I wanted to spend the weekend with you!" Erik groaned frustrated.

"Me too, Erik. But I still think that it's important that you get things straight with your parents too'" Marco said in a sweet voice taking Erik's hand in his.

"I'm just nervous" said Erik as he realized that he was very tense.

Marco didn't say anything he just walked to Erik at the other side of the table to start massaging his shoulders.

Erik relaxed under Marco's touched and soon, Marco moved so that his face was at the same level as Erik's neck.

"Well you're spending a night at your parents place, but after that we'll have the rest of the weekend for ourselves" Marco breathed in Erik's ear.

"Mhm, yeah" was all Erik managed to say, already aroused because Marco was exploring Erik's ear with his skillful tongue.

"Then I'm waiting for my surprise" said Marco making Erik gasp a bit. Marco stopped massaging at his shoulders, turning so that he was facing Erik, giving him a passionate kiss.

"Take me Marco" Erik demanded again, when he felt the urgent need of relief and he wanted to have his sweet boyfriend deep inside him.

"Erik, remember a game tomorrow? Really as much as I want to have you, claim you as mine, we can't. Not today, you should have time to recover at least a bit. And you must be at least a little sore" said Marco in a serious voice and continued to kiss Erik, regardless.

Then, when Erik was lost in Marco's touch the midfielder let go of his boyfriend and informed Erik.

"I'm going to take a hot shower" he said as he already took his shirt off. Erik was confused, did Marco's not taking him mean no sex what so ever at all?

"What?" Erik panted out of his breath, his arousal pressing tightly against the denim of his jeans.

"Who said that I was going to take the shower alone, Erik it wouldn't be a hot shower without you" chuckled Marco as he emphasized the word hot and Erik finally understood. Marco had already lost his trousers and boxers leaving Erik gasping on the chair with his mind going crazy thinking about their previous encounter in the shower and Marco standing naked in front of him didn't help at all.

"You cheeky bastard" Erik laughed as he chased Marco to the shower leaving a trace of his on clothes on the way.


	23. Maybe not

Erik didn't play the entire match, only the last 30 minutes when Dortmund was already leading 3-0. Erik played decent but he couldn't quite help his anxiety about the visit he would have to make after the match. Erik had called Lisa once again just be sure that he had understood correctly and that his parents really knew about his sexual orientation now.

The match ended and Erik was feeling a little more relaxed. They had won the match and Marco had played a great match too. In the dressing room the mood was happy and Erik really didn't want to leave.

Marcel had been quick to pick up Marco but Marco had insisted that he would wish Erik good luck before leaving and that he did. He was waiting next to Erik's car before the young defender was about to leave.

"Oh Erik love" Marco said quietly as he saw Erik approaching already sweaty even though he had just taken a shower. Marco hugged Erik shortly because he wasn't sure if there still were other people around and Marcel was waiting for him in the car.

"It's going to be fine, don't stress it. Call me in the evening, will you?" Asked Marco full of concern but he didn't want Erik to see it. He certainly hoped that things would go better with Erik and his parents than with Marco's own parents.

"Thanks Marco. I hope that it goes well. I will call you in the evening that's for sure" said Erik. After that they said their goodbyes and then Erik was on his way.

Strangely Marco worlds had calmed Erik down. He wasn't so anxious anymore and if he was honest with himself why should he even care about what his parents thought about his relationship with Marco.

...

"Are you okay?" Asked Marcel when Marco stepped into his car.

"I'm fine, I'm just sad that that Erik is so nervous, I wish I could help him somehow" said Marco as he sighed.

"You knew what I think would help" said Marcel cheekily.

"What?" Asked Marco a little cautious

"That you stop worrying so much, come on let's have some fun tonight, let's go clubbing" begged Marcel.

"I don't know, I'm not really in a party mood" said Marco

"Please, I want to meet some chicks and you haven't been spending a lot of time with me lately" begged Marcel with pleading eyes and Marco felty guilty so he couldn't say no.

"Okay but we'll not be there for long, I need to answer Erik's call" he noted and Marcel started to sparkle. Somehow, Marco has a bad feeling about this night.

...

Shortly after Erik arrived at his present home and parked his car. He was about to ring the doorbell when his mother already opened the door.

"Erik I'm so glad you're finally here!" Se shouted and embraced Erik tightly.

"I'm glad to be here too" said Erik as they entered his previous home.

"Dinner is already ready, come to the dining room your father is already waiting for you there" his mother said and Erik made his way to the dining room a little nervous because after all he hadn't yet spoken to his father after he had found out that his son was gay.

"Hi dad" Erik said and managed a small smile at his father who was sitting at the table reading a newspaper.

"Oh hi son" said Erik's father and stood up to give Erik a hug. Erik was feeling seriously relieved now. His father seemed to be approving and other things as well seemed to be just as they were before Erik's secret was out in the air.

Erik took the seat opposite to his father and soon his mother stormed in carrying a huge bowl of lasagna.

Erik almost thought that his parents weren't even going to start the talk about Erik's sexual orientation when his mother finally stopped babbling about the weather and looked at Erik straight in the eyes:

"Erik I want you to know something: be sure that you being gay makes no difference what so ever and we still love you more than ever. As Lisa probably told you me and your father were already suspecting this so it really wasn't much of a surprise. We understand that you are not having such an easy time because of your profession and I want you to know that we'll always be there for you no matter what" his mother said and Erik lost his tongue. He never would've expected that sort of an reaction and it seemed that all of his worries were stupid after all.

"Thank you" was all that Erik managed to croak out. "That means a lot" he added.

"And Erik don't take this the wrong way, I'm just curious, but you have a boyfriend right?" His mother asked and Erik was shocked.

"How did you know" he asked

"Well I couldn't help but notice the hickeys on your neck" his mother giggled and Erik blushed like a teenager.

"Um yes I do" Erik said happily, he wasn't scared anymore because now he was positive that they his parents would take the news well.

"That's great Erik, I'm happy that you finally have someone at your side I'm always so worried that your alone in Dortmund! What's his name?" Asked Erik's mother and Erik hesitated a bit before he answered.

"Marco" was the simple answer and both his mother and father beamed at him.

"That's great sweetheart I want to meet him!" His mother said enthusiastically.

"Don't you want to hear more about him?" Erik asked a little cautious

"No, I'm sure he's a great guy because you've chosen him. I want to be surprised!" His mother explained and Erik laughed a bit. He thought about what his mother had said and maybe it was actually better that Marco would use his charm when they would meet so he decided that he wasn't going to tell them about which Marco he had mentioned.

They continued talking for a bit longer about different things but soon Erik became tired and he was yawning. He as about to excuse himself to go and give Marco a call before he would fall asleep.

"Erik one more thing" his mother said when Erik had already stood up.

"Yes?" Erik asked

"You are being safe right?" His mother asked a bit embarrassed and Erik didn't quite understand.

"What do you mean?" He asked bewildered.

"Just that, well, you know that even though neither of you can get pregnant you should be careful and -" Erik's mother began before Erik stopped him.

"Oh God mom, please don't. We're being careful alright" he said in a hurry before he disappeared upstairs cheeks burning in embarrassment.

Erik luckily recovered from his shock quickly and took a shower and went to lay down in his bed so that he would finally be able to call Marco.

He was already smiling before he dialed the number. His smile faded as he heard the beeping of the line waiting for Marco to answer for ages. He must have tried to call him for over five minutes before he finally accepted that Marco wasn't going to answer.

Erik was now very restless again. Marco has asked him to call so of course Erik had expected him to answer and immediately the thought that something bad might have happened crossed Erik's mind.

It was already late so he decided not to call anyone had they seen Marco, nor Marcel and eventually he came to a conclusion that maybe his battery might have died or he might have fallen asleep. Erik finally fell asleep after a few hours with the phone in his hand.

...

Erik woke up the following morning when he felt something buzzing in his hand. He quickly opened his eyes just to see if the caller was Marco but he was disappointed after he saw that it was only Matze.

"Hallo Matze" Erik said sleepily.

"Umm I suppose you haven't seen the photos yet" was Matze's answer and now Erik was wide awake.

"What photos?" He stammered.

"Look at Bild" said Matze and Erik opened his tablet in a hurry. He waited frustrated as he page was loading and as soon as the front page opened his mouth fell open and a lump formed in his throat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry that I wasn't able to update sooner, I was a having a bit of a writers block and I was quite busy.  
> As you can see some drama is coming up and we'll see what happens to our couple next week ! :)  
> As always thanks for all the comments, kudos and readers:)


	24. Lost and found

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all the feedback once again ! :)  
> Also sorry for all the typos in the entire work

Erik stood on his bed feeling speechless. He kept reading the line: "does Marco Reus have a girlfriend" over and over again not knowing what to think. There was a photo under the text in which Marco apparently was in a some sort of a club leaning against the counter while a woman a little shorter than Marco was standing very close to him. And the thing that Erik hated the most, was the fact that it seemed like Marco was smiling at the girl even though the photo was blurry.

Erik felt absolutely powerless wanting to run away of the situation. He felt so stupid, really thinking that Marco could be gay and actually love him no matter how much he had been telling that to Erik. It had been a while since he had felt like this and the feeling of loneliness struck him with all his force even though he wasn't even sure that there was something going on between Marco and the woman.

He felt tears threading to fall down his cheeks as Matze's finally said something again:

"Erik are you alright?" He asked carefully sensing that Erik was shocked

"Matze, I... I don't know what to say" said Erik nearly sobbing.

"Erik, listen this doesn't necessarily mean that Marco has done anything with her" said Marze only guessing how bad his friend might feel.

"He promised to call me! Instead he went to a bar to get drunk and laid and-" Erik began before he was cut off:

"Erik stop it! I'm sure he has some explaining to do now but he really loves you Erik believe me." Matze tried to reassure Erik but nobody was going to make him feel better right now. He had been rejected so many times because he had trusted people and now it seemed that it was happening again. He just needed to be alone for a while.

"Thanks for telling me Matze I'm going to hang up now" said Erik not knowing how to explain himself.

"Are you going to see him?" Asked Matze and Erik didn't want to lie, but he was not up for any further conversation so he said:

"Yes I am, I hope it will be fine"

"It surely will be Erik" said Matze and then Erik hung up. He knew he wanted to be alone and then just hope that Marco would explain himself. He knew that there was most certainly one place where he could be alone.

...

Marco woke up feeling a bit hungover. He reluctantly turned his side but then he remembered some thing which was far more important than sleeping: he sprung up to search for his phone to see if Erik and called. Last night he had Marcel and demanded him to shut off his phone during the time they were the club and after that he had really no memories. The only thing that he remembered was getting home and nearly falling asleep right behind the door.

As soon as he switched on his phone he saw notifications coming up about something he didn't recognize. There was one message that caught his attention immediately: "MIND EXPLAINING YOURSELF" -MATS the message also had a photo in it and Marco froze immediately. A cover photo of Bild about him and a woman he had talked last night. In the photo it seemed that he was smiling and now he started to remember bits and pieces of last night.

When they were at the club Marcel had indeed found some girls to chat with so he just left Marco by himself. Marco had gone to lean against the counter when a brunette woman had come to chat with him. She had obviously showed her interest to Marco but Marco had just shrugged her off trying not to be too rude. The girl was nearly desperately trying to hit on him and Marco had laughed just a bit, and of course someone had just taken a picture of that.

He quickly began to search for Erik's number not knowing what he would do if Erik had seen the picture. He knew that Erik was still insecure, he could see it through him no matter how hard he tried to hide it. To Marco's horror, he noticed that Erik had tried to call him last night, as he had promised. But Marco hadn't answered to him. He called him immediately praying that he would answer to him but as the beeping continued Marco became even more desperate and after several minutes he hung up and nearly began to cry. He has fucked up so spectacularly and he could only wish that Erik could forgive him and Marco knew that he would fight for Erik. No matter what.

Marco decided to call Mats, and explain him the situation, and then beg him to drive him to Erik's place. Mats agreed, and Marco had just the time to take a shower and quickly get dressed before he heard Mats ring the doorbell.

Marco nearly pushed Mats down the stairs and ushered him to drive faster than he should.

"Marco, it's going to be fine, you just have to explain it to Erik." Mats reassured him.

"I don't know Mats please just drive faster. I'm so worried" he begged and Mats did drive a little faster. The drive to Erik's place had never been so long and when Marco actually made there and made his way impatiently to the doorbell he was nearly so anxious he would pass out.

He rang the doorbell several times, and even shouted Erik's name behind the door plenty of times, but nobody answered. Marco turned to mats with watering eyes.

"Mats please tell me there's something we can do" he sobbed and Mats looked at him with concerned eyes.

"I guess he might be with Matze, I suppose we should go there" Mats suggested and Marco had no problem with agreeing. They drove to Matze's house and again Marco was the first to get out of the car to ring the doorbell impatiently.

This time he didn't have to wait for long before Matze opened the door.

"Marco, what are you doing here?" He asked surprised

"What do you mean, isn't Erik here with you?!" Marco nearly shouted now feeling genuine fear. Erik couldn't just disappear like this.

"No he isn't, he told me he would go and see you!" Now Matze said starting to get worried himself.

"Well he isn't with me!" Marco shouted back and then Mats stopped them:

"Both of you calm down now! He demanded and Marco and Matze took a few deep breaths not really succeeding to calm down.

"Okay Matze you have a spare key to Erik's house, right? Can you give it to Marco so he would go there to check if Erik really is there, maybe he just didn't want to open the door." Suggested Mats and Marco looked at Matze with pleading eyes.

"I'm not sure I should give it you. Damn it Marco you should've heard him! He was really sad about all this, you betrayed his trust" Matze accused Marco.

"Do you really think that I could possibly feel any worse? Matze please give me the key!" Marco begged almost on his knees.

"Matze give him the key. I'll drive him there and then leave them be at peace, after all Erik has to go there sometime" Mats said and Matze finally gave up and gave Marco the key.

"Thank you Matze. Please try to understand, I had nothing to do with that girl really I'll explain you later." Marco said as he was stepping in Mats's car.

"I know Marco... Just take good care of Erik" said Matze and Marco felt a lump forming in his throat.

The drive back to Erik's house seemed to last forever and just when they arrived and Marco was already jumping out of the door Mats raised his voice:

"Take care of him Marco" he said and Marco just nodded running to Erik's door.

Marco stumbled because of his hurry but eventually managed to get the door open.

"Erik" he shouted but nobody answered. Marco went all around the apartment wondering where to go when he didn't find Erik anywhere. He was lost in his thought and when sat on the couch he noticed that Erik had also left his phone there and at this point Marco didn't know what to do. He was about to call the police when he heard the front door opening.

Marco heard a few steps coming and he stood up only to see Erik walking from behind the corner. They're eyes met and Marco looked at Erik in the eyes. His eyes were watering and it was clear that he had cried his eyes out.

Marco didn't knew what would Erik's reaction be but all he could do was close the distance between them and throw his body over Erik's.


	25. I need you now

CHAPTER 25

Erik was taken by surprise when Marco threw himself over Erik hugging him tightly. He didn't know what to do: he just stood there in awe letting Marco embrace him tightly.  
Marco sighed against Erik's neck and Erik still didn't know what to think. Marco was now with him definitely wanting him, but he was still expecting an explanation from him. He wasn't going to let himself get heart broken again, and he most definitely didn't want to be played with. 

"Oh my God, I'm so glad you're alright! Don't ever do that to me again!" Marco said relieved letting go of Erik to take a look of his eyes. Erik was well aware that he must look horrible right now. After all he had just cried his heart out. 

"You missed me?" Asked Erik carefully closing his eyes not wanting Marco to see them like this.

"Erik of course I did! I was worried sick! Please look at me! Marco demanded with a pleading voice his own eyes now also wet. Erik dared to look up again meeting Marco's face. The midfielders face was full of concern. 

"I just thought that you would've missed me last night, but you seemed to have some other company" Erik said his voice cracking miserably in the end and he was surprised when a tear rolled down his cheeks because he was quite sure that he wouldn't have any left anymore. 

"Erik please listen" said Marco as he hugged Erik again now a little lighter. "Nothing happened between us. Marcel dragged me to the club and demanded me to switch my mobile off. I had no intention of getting drunk and it must have been one of the drinks he ordered me. I was waiting for your call believe me. Then that woman came to talk to me, and I didn't want to talk with her but there was no escaping. She had the worst pick up lines ever and that's why I laughed and somebody took the picture you saw. Do you believe me Erik?" Marco asked still not letting go of Erik, now he was only cupping his face with his hands to see Erik's face better. 

Erik was relieved about Marco's words and the story he had told seemed believable. His expressions had seemed genuine and his face was definitely sad feeling regret.  
"I believe you Marco, it's just that I... I-" Erik was cut off when he felt Marco's lips pressing on his in the most passionate way. Their kiss wasn't long, but it was full of love and Erik felt his shoulders relaxing a bit. 

"Erik just believe me that I love you. I'm yours and only yours. I would never be with anyone else, I've never loved anyone the way I love you and I'm not letting you go" Marco said to Erik once again waiting for the younger ones reaction.

"I love you too Marco, I'm sorry that I reacted this way, it was just some old feelings kicking in" Erik said shyly.

"Don't be sorry love. Erik please tell me about these feelings, I need to know. They're clearly upsetting you and I must know more" demanded Marco as he pulled Erik to the couch next to him. Erik looked at Marco once more before he sighed and began to tell Marco, after all he couldn't make things any worse. 

"I've just been so sad. Before we met, I was struggling a lot. I had a few friends, but none of them were so close to me. I felt like I wasn't really a part of anything and I couldn't tell them what was going on in my life or how I felt because I felt like we weren't close enough. My family was always there for me and Lisa is a great sister but it still wasn't the same thing. It wasn't easy being gay and living with it. I tried to change for real but came to the conclusion that I couldn't change myself. Then I moved here by myself and found myself a bit lonely. I still keep contact with some of the friends I had back then and we're still good friends. It still didn't change the fact that I was still spending the most of my time alone, not really knowing what to do. I became friends with Matze and that was great. He has helped me a lot. I don't know where I would be without him. Then I realized that I felt something for you and tried to push it away from my mind, needless to say I wasn't able to do it. Then you actually showed some interest towards me and I finally had someone to trust, someone who truly and genuinely loved me. Then I saw the photo and I thought that our real must've been too good to be true and of course something like this happened. My old feeling of despair and sadness just kicked in again" Erik ended his speech and looked at Marco who had a serious and sad expression on his face. 

"Erik, thanks for telling me. I know that this must've been hard for you to tell and you know that you can always count on me right?

"Thanks for listening Marco" Erik sighed deeply as he lifted his gaze again to look at Marco who had put his arm around him in a protective way. 

They stayed like that for a while just being happy feeling each other's heart beats, before Marco wanted to know something:  
"Erik where were you? I was worried sick and when I went to Matze's house with Mats to get the spare key, Matze told us that you had gone to see me, but obviously you hadn't"

"I was riding my motorcycle. I just went to this place I've gone quite often before. It's a beautiful place, it calms me down." Erik said and he blushed. 

"What if you would've gotten hurt? Why did you leave your phone here?" Marco continued questioning.

"I wasn't planning to get hurt and well when I first came here it was all dusty and all the memories just flooded in my mind I wanted to leave. I want really thinking about taking my phone with me" Erik said. "Can we leave?" He added not wanting to spend more time at his previous home anymore.

"Of course love, can you drive or should I call someone?" Asked Marco concerned about Erik's condition. 

"I will manage Marco don't worry." Said Erik and he even smiled a little bit. He finally let himself relieve when they were driving to Marco's apartment. 

When they got inside, Marco didn't waste any time: he felt that now Erik was stronger and happier so he kissed him with more passion. They stood on the doorway and again all Erik could do was feel pure bliss.

"Please tell me something that you want Erik, anything" he whispered as he began to kiss Erik's neck. Marco seemed to be taking the control again and Erik decided to let go of is surprise to Marco, and do it later. Right now he needed to feel loved by his boyfriend who loved him. 

"Love me Marco, love me" Erik whispered back.


	26. Making up

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you again for the feedback! :)  
> Hope you still enjoy my story! I'm going to upload more chapters during next week as soon as I can :)  
> \+ I've also edited the previous chapters so it's now more pleasant to read and I added titles :)

"How do you want me to love you?" Marco asked as he moved on to kiss Erik's neck leaving him marked. 

"Make me feel like you never want anyone else" Erik began a little embarrassed and out of breath. "Show it to me" Erik said nearly able to finish the sentence because Marco was licking his way up and down Erik's neck.

The midfielder moved back to kiss Erik again. He was determined to make Erik feel that he loved him unconditionally and with all his heart.

The kiss wasn't slow, it was passionate and nearly forceful as Marco pushed his tongue to Erik's mouth licking every spot he could reach and soon Erik was a panting mess.  
"Oh Erik, your lips and mouth are so perfect. No one else can ever kiss your mouth the way I do. Your mouth is only for me." Marco said and the took Erik's jacket of and unbuttoned his shirt. He took his own shirt off to and he smiled as he heard Erik gasp. Marco waited no more time as he took Erik in his arms moaning himself when their naked chests touched together. He kissed the young defender again and pushed their groins together feeling the younger one's strong arousal pressing against his own. 

They were still standing in the hallway, before Marco unexpectedly took Erik in his lap once again. 

"No one else can ever pick you up the way I do" Marco whispered in Erik's ear as he was carrying him to the bedroom. He gently let Erik fall down on the mattress as he was busy taking of his own jeans and boxers. He looked at Erik who looked at him hungrily gulping as his pupils dilated. 

Soon Marco covered Erik's body with his own and began to lower Erik's pants and took them off followed by his boxers. Erik looked so beautiful in front of Marco, absolutely flawless as he lay there naked hair tousled all over his face and mouth open. Marco moved a bit further away from Erik and said:

"No one else can ever see you like this" he whispered and lowered his body again to kiss Erik, now with more force. His tongue went through every corner of Erik's mouth and their tongues battled for dominance but Erik seemed to be more than glad to let Marco handle him.

They both were soon breathless and Marco could feel Erik trying to grind himself against him. Marco was very close and he didn't want this to end too soon so he moved lower to kiss his way down Erik's body stopping at his nipples and abdomen giving them some special attention before he finally moved to the part of Erik's body that demanded the most attention.

"Your cock is so perfect, no one else can ever see it this way" Marco said as he took Erik's manhood in his hand and began to stroke it lightly. The younger one was soon whimpering under his touch and Marco took a quick pause before he lowered his head and placed a kiss on the head of Erik's cock before licking his way along the shaft. Erik was already moaning like crazy when Marco took him in his mouth, blowing him until he was sure that Erik was close to coming. 

"No one else can ever have your cock in their mouth" Marco whispered in Erik's ear

"Marco please" Erik whispered as he was crazy with need. Marco smiled at Erik and then took the lube from the nightstand and squeezed some of it to his fingers. 

"No one else can ever work you open" Marco said as he pushed one finger inside Erik, not finding a lot of resistance. He pushed his finger in and out of Erik with slow but certain movements. As Erik eased around his finger, he decided to add a second finger. Now he was moving using two fingers to work Erik open and then he pushed his fingers even deeper and he heard Erik moan:

"Oh God Marco" Erik panted and Marco knew that he had hit Erik's sweet spot.

"No one else can make you moan like this" he said as he continued to batter mercilessly at his sweet spot and soon Erik was panting and moaning even louder, clearly trying to hold his orgasm at bay. 

"Marco please" Erik whimpered as he was struggling and Marco took pity on Erik and removed his fingers only to put the condom on and lube himself.

If Marco was honest with himself, he himself had hard time to keep it together with his arousal so strong but he just quickly put on the condom and lubed himself very aware that Erik was watching him with eyes full of lust. 

Marco then covered Erik's body with his and gave him the sweetest kiss he could imagine: he slowly pressed his lips on his, but Erik seemed to have something else in his mind because he crossed his legs around Marco's body and wrapped his hands around Marco's neck in order to kiss him properly. 

"And no one. No one else but me, can ever take you and make love to you" said Marco as he parted their lips and then pushed in Erik's secret core to the hilt. 

Both of them moaned because of the action and Marco was pretty sure that he saw Erik's eyes watering as he looked at him lovingly.

Marco was almost so hard it was hurting and so was Erik. He began to move, pushing in and out all the way for a few times before he angled his thrusts so that he was hitting Erik's sweet spot with every thrust. He was crazy with need himself and he could hear and see that so was Erik. The young defender moaned and squeezed his legs around Marco's body in an attempt to get even closer. 

Marco felt every muscle in his body tensioning as he felt that he was at the point of no returning and he gasped:

"No one else can ever come inside you" and then he came inside Erik, feeling how countless shivers captured his body.

"And no one else can make you come" Marco managed to say as he was coming down from his high.

"Oh God Marco" Erik screamed as he trembled around Marco and came also, shooting his load between their bellies.

They lay there for a while trying to get back from their high and finally Marco was able to say the words he had been longing to say:

"No one else will ever love you the way I love you." All he could feel was pure love and bliss for Erik, and also relief that he hadn't lost him. 

He gently pulled out of Erik and cleaned the mess of their bellies before pulling Erik in his lap. 

"Marco I love you" Erik whispered as raised his head to look at Marco. 

"Erik I love you too" said Marco and he loved how he saw a huge smile forming on Erik's face again. 

"Are you happy?" He asked more seriously now.

"Yes, more than ever" Erik admitted and kissed Marco gently. 

They lay there for a while in silence before Marco heard Erik clear his throat:

"But remember Marco, tomorrow you'll be only mine" said Erik a mysteriously, but as long as Marco knew that he would be with Erik, he was ready for nearly everything. 

"I'm your now and forever" Marco said and was content when he hard Erik's breathing getting heavier, feeling him falling asleep in his arms.


	27. Waiting

CHAPTER 27

After they had woken up from their little napping, Marco had called Mats and informed him that everything was fine. After that he had made dinner with Erik and eaten it together before they finally cuddled in the couch watching some stupid series now of them paid attention to. Erik had fallen asleep in Marco's arms and the midfielder had gently carried him to the bed, knowing that the younger one had had an exhausting day.

The next day when Erik woke up he was already feeling a little smug about his plans. Last night to his luck he had fallen asleep in Marco's arms and they hadn't made love again, so Erik knew that his boyfriend would be like a horny teenager the following morning. Erik was going to make Marco need him. Make him feel so aroused that it would be almost painful and so far Erik's mission was successful. 

He was going to get up and take a shower when his boyfriends grip on him tightened around him not letting him go. The midfielder was already grinding his half hard manhood against Erik's butt, and the younger one realized that his mission was not going to be that easy for him too, but he definitely wanted to give it a try so he urgently pulled away from Marco getting up. 

"Marco you're like a horny teenager" Erik chuckled. "I'm going to take shower now, just stay in bed" he said and leaved a murmuring Marco behind him. 

Erik escaped to the bathroom and he took a quick (and cold) shower after that he dried himself and took a look of himself in the mirror. He made sure that his hair was tousled just the way Marco liked it the best, and that the towel that was hanging on his hips was perfectly positioned that it was hanging as low as it could, revealing his v-line. To add the cherry on top, Erik put on some of the aftershave he knew would make Marco go crazy. 

He walked out of the bathroom and he saw that Marco had gotten up to sit against the head of the bed, and he was scrolling through his smartphone. Erik could see that when Marco looked up, his eyes flew open and he immediately showed Erik the crooked smile the younger one loved the most. 

Erik walked confidently around the room, swaying his hips and making his way to the cabinet where his clothes were. He couldn't see Marco's face but he felt his gaze following him all the time. He reached the cabinet and deliberately let the towel he had on slip off, falling on the floor, showing his backside to Marco's hungry eyes. 

He could hear how Marco groaned in anticipation. Erik smiled at himself satisfied, but quick enough put on a pair of boxers to get a reaction from Marco.

"Honey, why are you putting on your boxers?" He asked stunned his voice hoarse.

"I thought we were supposed to have breakfast and then we'll have to catch training, remember?" Erik said pointing at the clock which was just enough to make Marco groan in frustration. 

Marco slowly got up and stole a quick but passionate kiss from Erik, who kissed him back just as passionately only stopping when he felt his own arousal almost unbearable. 

He pushed Marco off and saw how his boyfriends bulge was pressing against his boxers. He saw Marco's blushed cheeks and dilated pupils and he immediately knew what the midfielder was thinking.

"No, Marco you're showering alone, and don't you dare jacking off in the shower!" He ordered knowing that Marco would obey him after his next words: "remember that today you're all mine" he snickered. "And forever" he added to make Marco shiver. 

Erik stood behind the door as Marco went to the shower, making sure that that he would follow his orders. And he was glad when the only voice he heard was a loud hiss when Marco apparently turned the water colder.

...

Training for Marco went better than expected because he was turned on all the time, and not even slightly. Erik had probably deliberately put on some of his sexiest and slim fitted clothes just to make Marco's arousal grow all the time. 

They were having a break when he was making his way to get some water when he saw Erik chatting with Matze. Again he couldn't turn his gaze away from his young love and Erik seemed to notice him, giving Marco a cheeky smile. 

Both Matze and Erik were sitting on the ground and when Erik noticed Marco's eager looks, he pulled his shorts up so that he was revealing his toned thighs. Marco had to swallow and groan again, not to get himself in an embarrassing situation. By now he was definitely sure that his boyfriend was doing this on purpose and that he couldn't wait for his surprise in the evening. 

He was a little zoned out but he woke up from his fantasies when Mats tapped him on the shoulder:

"Hello, earth to Marco, is everything fine?" He asked laughing a little. 

"Uhh, yes. Better than ever" he said genuinely happy.

"Great, now here's the deal I promised to ask whether you'd come to have dinner with me and Cathy, ever since I told her about you guys she has been basically begging me to ask you guys" Mats said 

"You told her! Mats please you can't tell about us to anyone!" Marco shouted terrified nearly glad that his arousal faded away slightly. 

"Oh Marco please relax! She won't tell anyone, I'm positive about that. I also wanted to know if you'd like to ask Matze and his girlfriend too, it's would be nice to catch up with you guys" Mats said when he looked at Erik and Matze who were walking towards them.   
"Who won't tell nothing to anyone?" Asked Erik before Marco had time to answer Mats' question. 

"Cathy won't tell anything about you to anyone. Good that you're here too I was going to ask you and Marco, and Matze and his girlfriend to my place for dinner so we could catch up, as we talked at the party" Mats said looking at Erik who was quick to answer.   
"Oh we'd love to! What time should we come?" Even though Marco was watching him with a frustrated expression. 

"Around 5pm, and are you coming too?" He asked Matze 

"Oh sure, wouldn't miss it for the world!" He said enthusiastically before Kloppo called them back to practice. 

Erik patted on Marco's shoulder and winked at him when he ran back to where all the defenders were and left Marco where he was again captured by his fantasies.

...

When they were back home, Marco had tried to attack Erik with kisses, trying to get what he wanted and needed but Erik had shoved him off a bit reluctantly with a lot of effort.   
"Erik please" Marco pleaded wanting Erik so much, he was nearly certain that he wouldn't be able to wait until the evening when they would be alone again. 

"Marco, a little patience please" Erik chuckled a bit breathless himself. "Remember what you promised, and be sure that the you'll get your reward in the evening" he added and kissed Marco's cheek gently. 

His words had been just enough to make Marco try to control himself, but he was sure that he had a long night ahead of him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, thank again for all the Kudos and views :)))   
> I'm back with a chapter kind of cut in half, I didn't have the time to write it completely but I still wanted to update so here it is :)   
> Please leave feedback, it's always appreciated and keeps me motivated to continue. Tell me if you've liked this, and if you'd like to read something in specific I'd be glad to hear some requests :)


	28. Surprised

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Omg over 4000 viewes thank you so so so much ! :):):)  
> Here the second part of the chapter I sort of cut in half :)   
> Hope you enjoy it and as always all feedback is appreciated:)

It didn't take a long time until they were both standing behind Mats' door. Erik was sweating, he was pretty nervous after all. It would be their first appearance as a true couple, even though it was just around some friends. 

Marco seemed to notice this and he took a hold of Erik's hand. Erik relaxed a bit and as they knocked on the door, he was ready to let go of his boyfriends hand but Marco didn't let go. He smiled at Erik reassuringly and placed a soft kiss on his lips just before the door opened in front of them.

"Hi guys!" Mats said cheerfully as he let them in. Marco never let go of Erik's hand until it was time for them to get their coats off. Erik looked around waiting for some other people to arrive but there was nobody to be seen.

"Where is everyone else?" He asked carefully looking at Marco concerned. 

"Oh yes, I'm forgot to tell you. Cathy had some sort of an appointment she had forgotten about, it seemed to be pretty important so she had to go. Then I called Matze and we figured out that it might be awkward if only his girlfriend would be here, so he was kind enough to explain it to her and we'll just have a guys night!" Said Mats and Erik could feel himself relax.

"Well that's good" said Marco also smiling a little more relaxed. "Is Matze already here?" He added.

Mats didn't have the change to answer before Matze was already coming from behind the corner. He nearly ran to Erik and gave him a big hug.

"Erik it's so nice to see you again, we haven't talked in such a long time since you've been so busy with your boyfriend" said Matze also giving Marco a quicker hug. 

"It's nice to see you guys too" said Marco and Erik both in nearly unison and all of the men chuckled. 

"Well aren't you two adorable together, but let's go have dinner now shall we, I'm so hungry" complained Mats as Erik blushed. He still felt a little awkward around them, it was the first time he was really introducing someone as his partner, but if he was honest with himself, he couldn't have been happier. 

All of them made their way to Mats' dining room and sat down, Marco and Erik sitting opposite to Matze and Mats. The room was soon filled with lighthearted conversation and Marco was very deep in the conversation with Mats and Matze about German rap and Erik saw his chance. All a part of his plan.

He guided his hand carefully under the table so that nobody was able to see what exactly he was going to do. He found Marco's thigh soon enough and placed his hand on it. Immediately Erik heard how Marco's voice hitched but he managed to turn it into a cough.

He even kicked Erik under the table gently but Erik kept his pokerface. By now Marco had gotten himself back under some control but his cheeks were still a little blushed and Erik decided to move on: he carefully began to move his hand up and down the midfielder's thigh. This time Erik dared to wink at Marco who had now shut up for a while because Matze was still talking about something quite enthusiastically. Marco looked at him with large eyes, pupils dilated with lust. His cheeks were blushing a bit when he gulped and Erik was very satisfied with himself. However, he was a little surprised when he felt Marco's hand reaching his own under the table and placing it on top of his hand. 

Marco kept it there for a while and Erik was pretty certain it was because he wanted Erik to stop, but to Erik's surprise he felt that Marco started to move their hands together under the table and soon he felt that Marco was moving them higher, meeting Marco's crotch. Erik nearly gasped as he felt his hand cup Marco's extremely hard cock. He was definitely so aroused that Erik nearly began to move his hand up down Marco's length before he heard someone cough. 

"Don't tell me your playing footsie under the table?" Laughed Matze before he looked under the table. Marco quickly moved their entangled hands so that they were now in a less critical please between their bodies. 

Matze just laughed as he turned his gaze to the young couple again and Mats joined the laughter.

"It's Erik who is playing footsie with me all night in the bed" Marco laughed

"What? Are you telling me that I'm kicking you? You haven't told me" gasped Erik. "Plus it's your fault because your always curling around me, I have no space" he added a little insecure.

"So you're living together now?" Asked Matze, and Erik blushed again. He didn't know what to say but luckily Marco spoke up:

"Yes, we are, have been living for a few weeks in fact" he said and gave Erik's cheek a quick kiss.

"Okay okay you two" laughed Mats pointing at them and then cleared his throat: "but seriously me and Matze have been thinking if you'd like to share a room whenever we're traveling with the team from now on. For us it'll be no problem and I'm sure you two will enjoy yourselves" he said.

"Really? Wow of course we'd love to right Marco?" Asked Erik enthusiastically  
"Of course that'd be great. Thanks, both of you" said Marco beaming at them .  
"No problem at all" said Mats as he smiled at Erik and Marco friendly.

"But of course you know, even though you're sharing a bed, we hope that you're careful at least before a game, you know... We don't want neither of you limping on the pitch-" Matze began laughing but Marco stopped him. 

"Speaking of sharing a bed, it's getting quite late and I think we should go, right Schatz?" Asked Marco beaming at Erik and already standing up. Erik felt his cheeks turning into bright red when he heard Marco use the nickname around anyone else for the first time. He ended up just nodding because he was more than happy to go now, to go on with his plans.  
Mats and Matze wished them good night and soon enough Marco was pushing Erik towards the car and the going to his own seat. 

"Impatient much?" Asked Erik chuckling pleased as his plan seemed to be working perfectly yet again: he had managed to get Marco incredibly horny and he was sure that Marco was still hard.

"You have no idea what you just did to me there. It's hard enough that you're so sexy all the time, and then you do that! You better drive home fast" Marco demanded and Erik started the engine. 

He was driving a little faster than normally and he stepped on the pedal even more when he felt Marco's hand on his thigh. 

"What do you think you're doing?!" Erik asked terrified, was he seriously supposed to keep the car under control when Marco was going to do what he though he was going to do?  
"Don't you think you're getting away so easily" Marco just laughed as he moved his hand over Erik's half hard length. 

"If you keep on doing that, I'm afraid we'll never make it home" Erik threatened but it didn't stop Marco. He began to move his hand over Erik's manhood, which hardened even more instantly.

Erik tried to focus on traffic but it was nearly impossible. Eventually he had to push Marco's hand away, because if he kept going on like that he would never be able to hold on to his plans because his own arousal was becoming unbearable. 

They stumbled out of the car but this time it was Erik pushing Marco to their home. As soon as the door was closed Erik pushed him against the door, takin a hold of his collar and taking him in for a hungry kiss. He pushed his tongue in Marco's mouth and tilted his head so that their noses wouldn't be on the way.

Their kiss was all about teeth and tongues clashing together and soon Marco became breathless and he was forced to take air, and yet again Erik was very pleased with his effort. Marco was now pushing against Erik eagerly, but Erik didn't let him: instead he pushed Marco even harder against the door so that there was not an inch between their bodies. 

"Erik what are you doing? Oh my God" Marco moaned because of the action when Erik moved lower to kiss Marco's neck, now biting him determined to leave a mark. This continued for a while before Marco was a moaning mess and Erik took that as a sign: he turned them around and began to push Marco to the bedroom, never leaving his hungry eyes. Marco had some difficulties to actually reach the bedroom because he stumbled the entire way but when he finally reached the room, Erik pushed him on the bed, letting him fall there on his back looking bewildered.

This time it was going to be Erik's turn to make Marco look at him as he undressed himself. He firstly took of his jacket, then his shirt and finally his shoes, socks and pants. He was now there standing in front of Marco only in his boxers, and with a wink of an eye he also took his boxers off, leaving Marco panting on bed. 

When he walked over to Marco he was already moving closer to Erik removing his own jacket but before he could reach Erik, Erik pushed him back on the bed and said:

"Don't you dare to move, I told you that today you're all mine." Then he began to kiss Marco again, in the meantime taking off his clothes agonizingly slowly. He managed to take off his jacket, but then decided to try something else: he took the hold off Marco's dress shirt and pulled it violently letting the buttons fly across the room. 

Marco groaned and again tried to take Erik's hands but again Erik pushed them away.  
"Don't you dare move your hands" Erik breathed as he pinned Marco's hands on his sides and again kissed him breathless, Marco constantly moaning in his mouth.

Erik was now driven by almost inhuman lust himself, even idea of Marco wanting and needing him this bad made him incredibly horny. He quickly took off Marco's pants and boxers not quite as patiently as he had planned. 

Then, without any warning, he took Marco's manhood in his mouth and a loud scream echoed in the room as Marco tried to hold on to his self control. Erik licked his way up and down the shaft a few times before again took Marco in his mouth. He moved his head up and down until the head of Marco cock was pressing against the back of his throat. 

Marco was definitely struggling with keeping his hands on his own, and Erik pressing him tightly against the mattress didn't help at all. Erik saw his chance now, and took the bottle of lube from the nightstand and freed his arms to get some of it on his fingers. He searched for his own entrance and when he found it, he began to work himself open, a little faster than Marco usually did because he needed to have the midfielder inside him soon. 

He only stopped blowing Marco when he couldn't hold back his own moans and he felt drops of precum at the back of his throat: he didn't want this to be over too soon.  
Only now Marco opened his eyes and when he saw what Erik was still doing to himself he gasped and said:

"Erik you're so hot, you should've let me-" he began but Erik silenced him with giving his cock a kiss on the tip. He felt that he was now open enough, already three fingers moving inside him. He removed his fingers and moved back a little bit in order to get the condom and put it in Marco's hard length. 

He rolled the rubber over the shaft and Marco moaned again nearly bucking his hips up. Erik decided to tease Marco just a little more and put some lube in his hand before he began to stroke Marco gently. 

"Erik please... Ahh if you keep on going like that this, this will be over very soon" Marco said and Erik was kind enough to remove his hand off his cock. 

The midfielder again began to move but once again Erik had to stop him. He pushed him on the mattress again and then with a bit of hesitation he positioned himself on top of Marco and took his cock on his hand. Marco's eyes widened when he realized what Erik was about to do and he couldn't help but moan, the sight he got was so hot. 

Erik felt the head of Marco's cock pushing against his entrance and then when he didn't find a lot of resistance he sat down, and let Marco fill him to the hilt. 

Both of them moaned loudly and Erik had to take a little to time to recover, feeling only a slight burning sensation, which he even found a little pleasant. 

"Oh Erik, you're so tight, so hot" Marco said as hands were now resting on Erik's abdomen, moving up to tease the younger ones nipples a bit. 

Erik then moved up for the first time, and the lowered himself again, earning a loud groan from Marco, and feeling Marco's cock hit his sweet spot made him see starts. 

"Surprise" he panted in Marco's ear, and Marco now put his hands around Erik's hips to hold Erik at place. Erik could sense what he was going to do, and he simply let him, not finding enough strength to keep on moving by himself. Right now, he just felt that he needed to come, needed Marco to fuck him good. 

"Fuck me Marco" he panted and that's what Marco did: he began to roll his hips at first and then lifting Erik up so that they were moving in perfect unison. Erik took Marco's face in his hands for a rough kiss, but soon he had to stop, because he couldn't hold back his moans anymore.

Marco was hitting his sweet spot with every thrust and all he could do was give in to the feeling. He felt incredible tension building in his groin and he tried to hold his orgasm from coming but there wasn't much he could do. 

"Erik fuck, I'm going to-" Marco began but he couldn't finish the sentence because Erik stopped him by saying:

"I'm going to come Marco, please tell me you're coming with me?" He pleaded and then he felt Marco shiver under him, and pushing his cock inside Erik's sweet spot one more time when he shouted.

"Oh God Erik I love you" he said as he came hard his cock twitching inside Erik several times and that was all Erik needed to following him over the edge, shooting his load at his own abdomen, as his orgasm made him arch his back. 

It took them a while to get their breathing under control, and for Erik to find enough strength to his legs to actually get up a bit to let Marco's cock slip out of him. Marco took his own shirt from the floor and quickly cleaned up the mess before took Erik in his arms again and tossed the shirt back on the floor. 

"I'm sorry I tore your shirt apart" chuckled Erik looking at Marco with a huge grin on his face. 

"I don't mind you destroying my shirts when it's a part of a surprise like this" Marco grinned back and kissed Erik's cheek. 

"My God, Erik I love you" he said now more seriously and Erik felt a warm feeling reaching his heart.

"I love you too Marco, from the bottom of my heart."


	29. Protecting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello!   
> First of all, I am so sorry that there was such gap between this and the last chapter I wrote. I ran out of inspiration, but then I got help, from the precious Blue_Night  
> Blue_Night, this chapter is all for you, I never could've continued without you, and this wouldn't be so good without your great beta work.   
> Please enjoy this cheater, forgive me and tell me what you think, right now your feedback is more important than ever!

The next day, Erik was left speechless after Kloppo had announced that he would be a apart of the starting line-up against Leverkusen, playing just behind Marco. He knew that now was his chance to play a great match and show the team that he truly belonged to them. 

At the very beginning of the match, at the 12th minute, Kampl scored and Dortmund loosened their tight grip a little bit. Leverkusen where pressuring hard though, and Erik made a few excellent tackles and the player he was marking was starting to get pretty mad at Erik, because he was always blocking his efforts with spectacular marking. 

Marco was shooting Erik worried looks because he had played with this certain striker before, and he knew that he had quite a temper and that it would end up badly if he didn't calm down. Marco was really worried about Erik.

One more time Erik took the ball away from the striker and Marco knew that this was bad after he saw the furious look in the strikers eyes. The striker was getting back up, and once he was up he was pointing at Erik and yelling at him. The young defender was looking back with fear in his eyes and he was backing of. Regardless, the striker went closer until he pushed Erik with his hands hard enough that Erik fell on the ground. 

Marco couldn't hold himself back anymore. He ran across the pitch to tell the guy just what he thought about him and of course to make sure that Erik was fine. He reached the striker and pushed him back lightly, trying to suppress his rage and his strong urge to punch him in the face.

"What do you think you're doing, you just can't take it that he's better than you can you?!" Marco yelled at the guy. 

"What do you even care about him, is he your boyfriend or something?" The guy mocked and Marco froze. He was just about to punch the guy when Mats reached them, and pushed Marco away and took over the situation. 

Marco couldn't believe it, had the striker just actually made a gay remark about him? He couldn't possibly know his secret, he just couldn't. Plus, he couldn't know what his orientation had to do with Erik. 

Marco was furious, he was nearly shaking when he realized that Erik wasn't there anymore. He looked around in worry, and he saw that he was sitting on the bench, Kloppo and Matze fussing around him making sure that he was fine. Marco felt the urge to run there, it was just that he knew that this would look pretty strange and arouse more suspicions. He couldn't go there and show how much he cared about Erik no matter how hard he wanted to. 

The rest of the game he was playing on autopilot, all he could think was Erik and whether he was fine or not. At least Marco knew that he must be very scared, but he would never forgive the striker if he had actually injured Erik.

When the referee eventually blew the final whistle and Dortmund had won, Marco ran to the dressing room, not caring about exchanging jerseys or anything, right now he just needed to make sure that Erik was fine. 

He was the first player to enter the dressing room, and there he didn't see anybody. The only thing that was left of Erik was his dirty kit, lying on the bench. The clothes which he wore when they got there were still in the locker though, so he must have gone to the shower. Marco then strained his ears to hear whether he was there and he really did hear the sound of some water running.  
Marco quickly undressed himself and went to the showers. He sighed in relief as he saw Erik there standing under a stream of water, with his eyes closed. He was as beautiful as a Greek statue, completely frozen in place. Marco carefully closed the distance between them and laid one of his arms on Erik's shoulder. 

Erik's eyes immediately flew open and Marco could see that he had been crying, quite a lot apparently. 

"Hush, it's only me Erik" Marco said as laid his other arm on Erik too and Erik sighed in relief, though he was still very tensed. 

"Please tell me what happened?" Marco asked.

"I, well, you saw what happened with the guy. He pushed me down" Erik just said and shook his head in disbelief. "I was so scared" he added and Marco felt horrible. He just wanted to kill the guy, no one should hurt Erik like this. 

"Erik, I know you must be scared, but it's alright now. I won't let anything like that happen again" Marco said and moved a bit closer, so that his body was pressed against Erik. 

"Marco, I was so scared! But you, did you hear what the striker said? He asked if I was your boyfriend?! How did he know!?" Erik asked Marco and a few new tears rolled down his cheeks. Marco couldn't take it anymore, he hugged Erik tightly.

"Erik, it doesn't matter what he said, he was just trying to annoy me. He doesn't know, no one does" Marco said soothing words to Erik. 

That was their beautiful moment and Marco was just about to kiss him, when he heard someone enter the showers and Marco didn't have enough time to withdraw himself form Erik. 

They both looked in terror as Schmelle and Neven entered the shower and saw them embracing. Marco quickly moved away and went under another shower, looking at Erik who was suddenly busy with his own shower too. 

Neven and Schmelle looked at both of them with their eyes growing large and a stunned look on their faces. Then, they looked at each other with the same weirdness in their eyes, but luckily neither of them said anything. The rest of the players began to arrive and the situation turned back to normal.

Erik was the first to finish the shower and Marco followed him shortly after. They didn't talk much in the dressing room because certainly they had caused enough suspicions. 

"Are you coming?" Asked Erik just when they were both done, and Marco just nodded. They walked to the car in silence and when they were both inside, Marco finally spoke again. 

"So that was bad..." He began and Erik continued. 

"Yeah, Marco, I honestly... I have a bad feeling that someone will find out soon... I think we should tell the team. They deserve to know..." Erik said and surprised Marco a bit. 

"That's true Erik. I think that we should tell them too, but don't worry I don't think that the press will find out.." Marco said.

But was Marco right?


	30. Plans

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is another chapter I got it finished a bit earlier than I expected so here it is :-)  
> Blue_Night, thank you again for the beta reading and feedback, it has been golden and this wouldn't be like this without you.  
> And thank you for everyone else who have given me feedback, it has made me happier and more motivated to continue, so please keep going :-)  
> Enjoy this one and tell me what you think! :-)

"Honey is something wrong?" Marco asked concerned Erik when they had breakfast the next morning. Erik was hanging his head in his hands and was barely able to keep his eyes open.

"I just didn't sleep so well" Erik sighed.

Last night, when they had gotten home Marco hadn't been able to keep his hands off Erik almost the entire night, not that Erik minded that. But after their love making when Marco had fallen asleep, Erik had had a lot to think about, and he hadn't dared to wake Marco up to have a conversation with him. 

He had been wondering about how on earth they ould tell the team that they were together. How would they react? What if they thought it was unnatural and insane? All these questions had been circling in Erik's head through the night and he had only slept a couple of hours if even that.

"I hope I wasn't the one keeping you from sleeping for too long" Marco snickered but got more serious when he looked at Erik's face. Erik's eyes were squinting and and he knew that he must look horrible. "Babe what's wrong?" Marco asked looking concerned and taking Erik's hand in his.

"I am just worried about how the team will react when we'll tell them" Erik said, looking Marco in the eyes.

"Erik, I'm concerned about it, too. But, I think that their reaction will be good, you saw how well Matze, Mats and Kloppo reacted already. It's probably going to be a shock for most of them, but we can't keep hiding our relationship forever. Plus, as Mats said: the team deserves to know." Marco pointed out. "Trust me Erik it will be fine" Marco muttered before he leaned over the table to kiss Erik's cheek.

"But how will we tell them? Before a training session like: oh yeah, me and Marco are gay and we're together?" Erik said a bit sarcastically, he just couldn't imagine the situation in his head.

"Actually, I have a plan" Marco said and smiled a bit. He seemed to have some sort of a plan and Erik was dying to hear it because he certainly had no idea.

"Which is?" Erik asked with a frown.

"Well, you know how very fond Kloppo is with those team meetings and improving the team spirit. I was thinking that I could suggest that we would go camping together as a team, and then there we could delicately tell them" Marco said.

"Camping?" Was all Erik could hear from Marco's words. Camping. Since when had Marco even thought about something like that? Erik had gone camping once before in his childhood and he hadn't enjoyed it. In a matter of fact, he had hated it, that's why he lived in a city now.

"Yes, camping, I thought it would be nice. You don't want to?" Marco asked looking a bit astonished.

"No! I mean, I will come but it's just that I don't know... camping? For how long?" Erik asked, hoping that Marco wasn't planning to spend a night or more there.

"Just for one night, but you're afraid of it, aren't you?" Marco asked and Erik blushed. Yes, he might be a bit afraid, going out to the woods, and sleep in a tent in the middle of nowhere.

"Uhm well, I don't know it just seems... difficult" Erik addressed trying to sound more confident than he truly felt.

"Well do you have a better idea?" Marco asked, he seemed confident that he'd actually tempted Erik to come with him.

"No" Erik sighed defeated. "I guess that's a plan then" he added, gazing at Marco who had a sneaky expression on his face.

"Perfect. Just think about it, you'll be sharing a tent with me, and you know it can be very romantic, stuffed in a small sleeping bag with you all night..." Marco left it hanging in the air and of course Marco's words made Erik's blood rush straight to his groin. Erik tried to suppress the will to attack Marco with kisses immediately, because he wasn't going to let Marco away from this situation so easily.

"I have two conditions though" Erik said and Marco was immediately cautious.

"Okay?" Marco asked, and now it was his turn to frown.

"If you're dragging me to go camping with you, we're going to go there by my motorbike, so we better not go too far, depending on how long do you want to sit behind me on the bike..." Erik said cheekily.  
He knew that Marco was actually a bit scared of driving on the motorbike with him, but, Erik was scared of camping, too, so they were even then.

"You're telling me that I have to spent hours on your motorbike?" Marco asked just to be sure.

"Yes" Erik answered him with a determined expression on his handsome face.

"Okay, I guess I can deal with that... But what's the second condition?" Marco asked even more cautious now.

"The second condition is that right now you'll demonstrate me how we are going to sleep in the sleeping bag together" Erik snickered and Marco understood immediately, laughing rather pleased. He walked around the table only to pull Erik in for a kiss before he took him in his arms and carried him to the bedroom.

 

...

 

"I hope this goes well" Erik said to Marco as they were going to the conference room. Kloppo was going to give them a quick talk about their next opponent and after that Marco was going to tell them about his idea.

"I'm sure it'll go well, look Kloppo is already there, I'm going to tell him now." Marco said as he began dragging Erik with him.

"Hi guys!" Kloppo greeted them happily carrying some papers in his hands.

"Hello!" Marco and Erik both said nearly in unison.

"What's up?" Kloppo asked, quirking an eyebrow at them and Marco began explaining:  
"Actually I have an idea. You always think that's it's good for our team to be more united right?" Marco asked.

"Yes, of course" Kloppo asked, sounding stunned, he didn't seem to realize where Marco was going with this.

"Well, I was thinking that the entire team could go camping, about 100 kilometers from here, there is a nice place. It would be nice to spend some time with the team somewhere else than always here. And, me and Erik could tell them about our relationship there, as well," Marco explained confidently and Erik looked at Kloppo's reactions.

"That's a great idea Marco! I'm very happy that you've decided to tell the team, they deserve to know and I bet that their reaction will be great." Kloppo said happily. "I totally count on you with this, so you just take care of everything. When were you planning to go?" their coach asked them.

"Well, there are a few days left until the next match, so if you don't mind us skipping one training session then we could go there tomorrow morning, spend the night there and then come back" Marco told Kloppo and Erik was shocked. Tomorrow already, he would somehow need to mentally prepare himself.

"Of course, one training session doesn't matter. I have to get these papers to my office now but just got the conference room and after I'm done, I'll let you speak Marco" Kloppo said and patted Marco on the shoulder before he left.

Marco didn't say a word when he began dragging Erik with him to the conference room, and Erik was too shocked to say anything. He was so grateful that Marco seemed to be confident, because he was nervous like hell.

Marco only let go of Erik's hand when they got in to the conference room and almost all of their teammates were already there waiting for them. They sat in the first row, and a moment later Kloppo came to the room and began babbling about their next opponent. Erik was barely listening, all he could think about was how Marco was going to tell them about his plan.

"Okay, that's it for today." Klopp ended his speech, and some of the players were already getting up. "But hold on for a minute, Marco here has and idea" Kloppo added and nodded at Marco who got up from his seat.

"Yes, I indeed have" Marco said as he walked to the front of the room. "It has been a while since we've had a team gathering and I thought it would be nice to spend some time together doing something not related to football. I was hoping that we could all go camping tomorrow, we would spend one night there" Marco said and then, waited for their teammates' reaction. Erik was tense but relaxed a bit when he heard some excited words filling the room, their teammates seemed to like Marco's idea.  
"I think it's a good idea, and I don't think that anyone will say anything against it" Mats said.

"So no one has anything against this?" Marco asked and no one said anything.

"Good then, I think we should leave tomorrow morning, around 9am. Bring some tents and sleeping bags, and then we'll leave together from here" Marco said, before there was some further conversation about them leaving tomorrow. Erik didn't say anything, he just sat there and listened, a little less scared about what tomorrow would bring them, but still nervous and worried, because tomorrow, his teammates and friends would know that he was gay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter and some of the following chapters were inspired by the wonderful Camp Dortmund by GoForGoals :-)


	31. Let's go camping

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello my dear readers :-)   
> Thanks for all the comments and kudos I received on the latest chapter, they mean a lot :') please leave something nice, a comment, a kudos, it means so much to me and keeps me motivated to continue this story, makes me write faster and makes me incredibly happy.   
> Blue_Night, thank you for the wonderful beta-reading, I can't possibly thank you enough hun <3   
> Enjoy this chapter and tell me what you think :-)

"Are you sure we've got everything?" Erik heard Marco ask as he was already  
putting on his helmet. Erik gazed at Marco who was standing next to the garage  
door looking very stiff. Marco had a huge backpack on his back, they had packed  
last night and stuffed all of the things they needed for their camping trip in the huge  
bag.

"Yes, I am, just get on already" Erik chuckled a bit nervously as he put his helmet  
on and waited for Marco to get on with his own. He watched Marco sigh and pull the helmet over his head, getting on the passenger's seat of Erik's motorcycle and put his arms around Erik's waist.

Erik started the engine and began driving, surrendering to all the thoughts in his  
mind.

Last night when they had agreed on the camping trip with their teammates both  
Marco and Erik had been happy and nervous at the same time. Finally, they would  
tell the team about their relationship and they wouldn't have to hide anymore, but,  
needless to say they were both very nervous about it.

What if someone would react badly? What if they wouldn't be accepted by their  
teammates and they didn't want them in the team anymore? All this could have  
some serious consequences. They would most likely be treated differently, whether  
they wanted it or not. They could be "abandoned" by their team, left alone on and  
off the pitch, and that was what Erik feared the most. All he wanted, was that  
everything would go back to normal after their coming out, and that he could live openly with Marco, not having to be afraid of holding his hand or hugging him around his teammates.

The fact that Mats, Matze and Kloppo already knew about them made life easier for  
Erik. At least they would be behind them, and Erik knew that especially Mats' and  
Kloppo's words meant a lot for the entire team. They had all reacted well, but the  
team had over 20 players, and Erik wasn't sure what to expect.

Marco had told him calming words and assured him that it would all be fine, and no  
matter what he would stay by Erik's side. Erik had told him the same, but it was still  
clearly obvious that Marco was nervous too.

Marco's grip on his waist tightened the entire time and Erik knew it was going to be  
a long ride with him. He enjoyed having Marco like this, holding on to him,  
searching for safety. But, he wasn't sure how well would Marco be during the rest of  
the day, because the ride to the camping side would be almost two hours long.

He parked to the carnage of the training center and noticed that Mats was already  
there, leaning against his Range Rover. He felt Marco getting off the bike and Erik  
followed his movement, getting rid of his helmet at the same time as Marco did.  
Mats was now approaching them, with an amused look on his face.

"Well this is surprising" he mused as he laughed at Marco whose hair was all  
tousled because of the helmet. Erik had to admit that Marco looked quite adorable.

"I didn't know about this myself before we got to know each other better" Marco  
said referring to Erik and his motorcycling hobby.

"Well, I bet I will not be the only one surprised by this. Have you thought that some  
people might have, eh, suspicions?" Mats asked and Erik sighed. Probably  
someone might already get a hint about what's going on when they saw that Erik  
and Marco would travel together. It wasn't a usual thing, and it would look probably  
amusing and cause quite some assumptions when they noticed how Marco had his  
hands all over Erik's back and waist.

"Well, maybe we want to cause some suspicions" Erik said carefully and looked at  
Marco who continued his sentence:

"Yes, we're planning to tell the team about us" Marco said and looked back at Mats  
who now had a surprised smile on his face.

"Oh, that's great! I'm sure it'll all go well, and remember that I'll be by your side no  
matter what!" Mats said enthusiastically and Erik was a little taken back.

"Do you think this is a good thing?" He asked carefully.

"Yes, it will make our team stronger and more bonded, and I'm sure it will be easier  
for your two, being able to come to practice together and being able to be a couple"  
Mats said and patted Erik on the shoulder, giving him an encouraging smile.

"I think so, too" Marco said and smiled too, before he began styling his hair trying it  
to look a bit better. Erik laughed a bit and gave Marco a quick kiss on the cheek  
because no one expect Mats was around them.

Soon all the other players began arriving too, all of them with their cars. Some  
came together, having decided that they would share a tent together. Kloppo was  
the last one to arrive and when he did, he gathered all of the players around him.

"I'm glad that everyone came, and honestly I have no idea about what's coming up  
since this was Marco's idea, so I'll just let him speak now" Kloppo said and waved  
at Marco so that he could speak to everyone. Erik looked at Marco who gulped a bit  
nervously before he began talking:

"I'm glad that everyone is here too, I guess we'll get going then. If you want to just  
follow me and Erik, Erik knows where the place is so we'll lead you there" Marco  
said.

"You and Erik?" Asked Nuri sounding a bit surprised.

"Yes, we came by Erik's motorcycle" Marco said and pointed at Erik's motorcycle.  
Everyone turned to look at it and some gasped in surprise, the only one who wasn't  
surprised was Matze, who had apparently known about Erik's secret hobby.

"And after we get there, we can start a campfire or go hiking a bit, we'll see what's  
the weather like then" Marco said nodding.

"Well, you heard him, I guess we better get going then!" Kloppo ordered and  
everyone began moving. Erik saw how Marco sighed in relief and went to speak to  
him.

"You did great, and I'm sure it'll go well this evening too" Erik said quietly enough  
that no one else could hear them as they began walking to Erik's motorcycle.

"I hope so, but I guess we should look for a right time to tell them, maybe later in  
the evening?" Marco asked.

"I agree" Erik simply said as he handed Marco his helmet and put his own on. Erik  
couldn't see much to his sides because of the helmet but he could sense that there  
were many curious eyes looking at them. Most of his teammates hadn't even ever  
seen them coming to the training center together, nor did they know that they were  
this close.

"Should I take your backpack to my trunk so you won't have to have it on your  
back?" Kevin asked Marco a bit surprisingly.

"Thanks, that would help a lot" Marco said as he put the backpack in the trunk of  
Kevin's car. He then came back to Erik, put on his helmet and sat on the back of  
Erik's motorcycle. He once again put his arms around Erik, instead of holding on to  
the bike itself and Erik couldn't help but be pleased about it. He loved to feel the  
heat of Marco's chest radiating through the garments to his back.

Erik drove of the garage, and waited as the line of mostly super cars was behind  
him before he began driving. He quickly got to the highway and again he noticed  
how Marco's grip on him tightened in an almost painful way. He accelerated and  
maybe drove a bit faster than necessary, but he was very much enjoying himself.

He only slowed down when he felt that his ribs would break any moment because  
of Marco's hands holding on to him tightly and as he noticed that the other cars  
were falling behind.

The rest of the ride was rather peaceful, the weather was beautiful, the sun was  
shining and over all it would have been a very nice day if they didn't have to make  
the huge revelation in the evening. Erik ended up driving near a small clearing next  
to a river. He hadn't been there before, but Marco had advised him there and soon  
all of the other cars where there too. Kevin gave Marco his backpack back and  
Klopp suggested that they should set up their tents and then they could go hiking  
near the river.

Most of players had decided to share a tent, and of course Marco and Erik were  
sharing a tent too. They weren't getting so many looks now because they had  
already traveled together and that had cause most of the suspicions. Marco began  
fiddling with the tent looking quite lost, and Erik went there to help him. He took the  
instructions from Marco and looked at them for a while after he realized that it  
would be quite easy after all. He began giving Marco instructions and sooner or  
later, the tent was up. Marco went inside with one of the last poles to put it on place  
and he seemed to struggle a bit.

"Erik come and help me!" He ordered and Erik went inside, only to find Marco there  
grinning at him. The pole was on its place and there was nothing wrong with it.

"Why do you need help, this is perfectly fine!" Erik complained before he noticed the redness of Marco's cheeks and the evil grin he had on his face.

"Yes, it is very fine, but I needed help" Marco chucked and leaned a bit closer to  
Erik on the narrow space they had.

"In what?" Erik asked, his breathing a bit ragged, Marco was too close to him not to  
make Erik's heart beat faster and his blood circling quicker.  
"I really can't do this alone" Marco said as he leaned closer and forcefully pressed  
his lips on Erik's. Erik was surprised by the gentle onslaught that Marco's lips were  
giving him and he fell on his butt on the floor of the tent. Marco pressed him down  
so he was now on his back and Marco straddling him, still forcefully calming Erik's  
mouth as his.

Erik tried to move, he was well aware that get couldn't be doing this here, and that it  
would soon get out of hands, he was already trying to hold back his moans when  
Marco began grinding against his already hard manhood.

Erik let out a rather loud moan, and Marco just chucked: "try to stay quiet". Erik  
really did try, but he couldn't, so soon another moan escaped his lips, and that was  
when they heard someone calling for them.

"Marco, Erik, are you okay? I heard someone scream?" They heard Sebastian  
yelling form outside. Erik was luckily quick to come to his senses so pushed Marco  
aside and got back to and upright position as he yelled back:

"Yes, I just hit my head!"

"How could you hit your head, you're in a tent?" Sebastian continued questioning  
but thank God he didn't enter the tent.

"I hit my head with this idiot" Erik said and smiled at Marco who just chuckled.

"Well, we're about to go, would you two idiots like to come too?" Sebastian asked  
and Marco was quick to yell him back:

"Yeah, one minute" he said and then began straightening his clothes trying to look  
decent.

"I can't believe we just did that" Erik said and tried to do the same, even though he  
was sure that he failed. His hair was a mess, his pupils were still dilated with lust  
and his lips red because of Marco's rough kissing.

"Don't worry, I'll take care of you tonight when we don't have to worry about making  
noise" Marco said and winked at Erik as he got on his feet. Erik blushed and quickly  
followed him out of the tent and then they joined their teammates.

They got some weird looks being the last ones to join them and looking slightly  
messy, but only Matze and Mats seemed to know what's going on because they  
winked at both of them.

Klopp began leading the team through the forest where there was a clear path for  
the hikers. There was a cheerful mood through the entire team and some giggles  
and laughter was heard throughout their hike in the woods. Erik was mostly chatting  
with Matze and some of the other younger players, while Marco stayed with Mats  
and Neven. Erik thought it would be wise to keep their distance, because he was  
pretty sure that when they'd get back to the camp Marco would again be glued to  
his side.

And he had presumed right because the moment when they got back to the  
clearing, Marco joined him and Matze. They together started a campfire, in order to  
boil some water and fry some marshmallows. The entire team ended up sitting in a  
circle around the fire, and all of them chatted excitedly. Klopp was there too,  
enjoying the company of his players, but after they had eaten, he excused himself.  
He told that he was too old for staying up so late but gave his players a permission  
to stay up for as late as they wanted to. As soon as he was in his tent, Kevin spoke  
up:  
"Finally!" Kevin shouted as he went to his car and opened the trunk, only to bring  
cases of beer with him.

"Kevin are you serious!" Mats said incredulously but didn't try stop him when he  
began giving the bottles to everyone. Marco and Erik took some too, both of them  
felt like they needed something to ease up their nerves.

"Come on let's have some fun!" Kevin said as he took his seat again. The talking  
continued for a while and Erik and Marco both knew that the time was coming, they  
would have to tell them soon. That was when Kevin opened his mouth again and  
said:

"Hey! Let's play spin the bottle!" He said enthusiastically and Sebastian groaned.  
"What are we, 12 year-olds?"

"Come on grandpa just go with it!" Kevin said emptying his own bottle and putting it  
in the middle of the circle. "I'll go first!" He said and spun the bottle. The bottle  
landed on Shinji and he chose truth. Kevin asked him to tell a story about the most  
embarrassing thing that had ever happened to him, and Shinji began telling about  
the first time he had hooked up with a girl in Germany, and how wrong it had all  
gone. The entire team was soon laughing and after a few more spins, it was Mats'  
time to spin, and when he did the bottle landed on Marco. Mats looked at Marco  
with a weird expression on his face, and Erik wondered what was he thinking about.

"Truth or dare?" Mats asked.

"Dare" Marco said confidently and he seemed to know what Mats was up to, Erik  
had no idea however.

"Tell us who you would kiss here and why, then do it!" Mats said and the circle of  
players began shouting and laughing. Marco was smirking and gave Erik a brief  
look, and at that moment Erik knew how they would come out.

"Well..." Marco began before he cleared his throat. "I would kiss Erik here because I  
love him," he said and the entire camp went silent. Erik's heart was beating so fast  
that he thought it was going to fly out of his chest.

Then, Marco leaned closer, put one of his hands on Erik's cheek, and gave him one  
last look before he gently pressed his lips on Erik's. He began kissing Erik like they  
were alone, it wasn't a kiss you were forced to do. An idiot would have been able to  
see how much they loved each other because of the kiss, and after about roughly a  
minute, Marco finally pulled back and Marco and Erik faced the shocked faces of  
their teammates.


	32. Reactions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello :)  
> Firstly, I'd like to thank Blue_Night for doing the beta-reading and giving me amazing advice, and for putting up with my not so good English. Thank you! You're help is priceless!  
> And then, thank you for all the readers who still are here and especially for everybody who have left feedback, it means a ton to me.   
> Enjoy this chapter and as always tell me what's in your mind :)

Time stood still as Erik felt his heart racing. He hadn't looked up yet after he had kissed Marco. The silence was so heavy, the only thing Erik heard was the loud owl hooting somewhere in the nearby trees. Marco had taken his hand after the kiss, and he was the one looking at their teammates, and their coach.

The silence and tension was almost ringing in his hears when Marco gently nudged his side with his elbow, and finally Erik dared to look up, only to see that their teammates were smiling at him and Marco.

"Well, what a shocker, who didn't see that one coming?" Sebastian said and he was the first to break the silence with his question. He took a sip of the beer he had and Erik couldn't do anything else but stare at him with his mouth open. 

"What!?" Erik gasped even to his own surprise. Now everyone's eyes were on him and he blushed, quickly looking down again.

"I think everyone with eyes in their heads already knew that something was going on" Sebastian replied calmly. "Or is anyone around here particularly surprised?"

"I am" said Kevin. His mouth had fallen open, he was gaping at Marco and Erik with wide eyes. Marco squeezed Erik's hand and then cleared his throat before he began to speak.

"So yes, uhm, I love Erik. We are together, we're both gay, and we're a couple. And I do hope you accept our relationship and let us be who we are, at least when we're together with the team. We aren't out in public yet, and we don't plan to do so in a while. It was just beginning to be a bit difficult to keep this a secret from you guys, and you all are important to us, so we wanted to tell you and we hope you appreciate it." Marco ended and then there was a thoughtful silence again, the team seemed to be digesting Marco's words. That was when Kloppo took the lead and it was his turn to speak.

"So, as you heard Marco, Erik and Marco are in a relationship. I already knew about it before, and I talked with both of them about what I see them appropriate doing and what are the rules, the rules that go to all of your relationships, as well. They have what they have and I expect all of you to respect and accept them, their relationship and the fact that they are gay. If you feel uncomfortable and/or treat them in an inappropriate way, you can see yourself to leave the team. I won't accept any bashing, or any sort of mocking at all. They are a part of the team, they are Marco and Erik, just like before. The only difference is that you now know that they're in a relationship and gay. That should in no way affect the way you treat them." Klopp made clear and his wise words echoed in the air.

Erik hadn't yet said anything and he felt that he needed to. He was a bit afraid, but he decided to be brave. Marco had been brave, and he wanted to show courage, too.  
"Yes, uhm...." Erik began uncertainly. "We are together, and I'd just like to say that we are still the same guys, we just happen to love each other" Erik confessed and blushed instantly.

"Well honestly we already saw it, or well, at least we saw your love for Marco, you were basically undressing him with your eyes since the first day" Matze laughed and the other players joined the laughter. Erik was mortified, he buried his face in his hands.

Marco tried to calm him down a little bit by putting his arm around him, and Erik was quite sure that he was shooting some murderous looks at his teammates because they silenced nearly instantly.

"Well, back to being serious again. I hope you'll all behave, and if there are any questions now would probably be the time for them" Kloppo said and everybody were silent before Erik heard Kevin speaking up.

"I'm worried about how this will affect the team. I mean, what if you ever come out in public, or what if you'll break up?" Kevin said and Marco hissed next to Erik.  
"Look, about your first concern, that is not going to happen anytime soon. And most likely not during the season, when we're on holiday it will be much more time to do all the things we'll probably have to do then. And about your second problem, that isn't going to happen. I love Erik, and if it will be up to me only, I will never let him go," Marco said deadly serious and Erik could just feel pride swelling in his chest.

He turned to Marco beaming at him and he just kissed him, smiling and kissing, so happy he was. Now they had finally told the secret to their team, and they could be openly together, at least around them.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Marco woke up to a weird noise coming from Erik's direction. Erik was laying with his back turned to Marco. Marco thought that he might have just woken up to Erik's snoring and just closed his eyes again and snuggled closer to Erik. Then he noticed that Erik back was soaked with sweat, so he carefully tried his forehead. He seemed to have normal temperature so luckily he didn't have fever. Marco quickly looked at his smartphone and was a bit blinded by the sudden bright light shining when he tried to see the time. It was only 3am.  
Marco carefully stroked Erik's hair and at the same time Erik groaned again, and pushed his backside against Marco. Marco tried whispering soothing words to Erik's ear and putting his hand around him in order for Erik to calm down, he must be having a nightmare.  
"Hmmm yeah" Erik moaned and Marco gasped in shock. Erik sounded rather pleased now, and he began to wonder whether Erik's dream was really a nightmare or maybe something else. "Oh yes!" Erik moaned again and this time Marco couldn't help it. He felt himself growing hard in his boxers, Erik's body oh so close to him and his heavy sighs still audible. "Oh yes, right there!" Erik moaned now and bit his lip and Marco was already painfully hard after his longing for Erik had been denied earlier today. When they had gotten into the sleeping bag, Erik had been so tired Marco had sensed he wasn't going to be up to anything.  
Marco involuntarily began moving his hips to search for the desperately needed friction, but then, he couldn't take it anymore when he heard Erik gasp: "Oh Marco yes!"  
Marco moaned and kissed Erik's neck, inhaling his scent and this finally woke Erik up. Erik's eyes flew open, startled, and he quickly turned around to face Marco who crashed their lips together instantly. Marco began kissing Erik with burning desire and all that Erik could do was give in and let Marco's talented tongue violently search through his mouth.  
"Marco- what? Marco?" Erik mumbled in between the kiss when Marco paused to take some air. "What are you doing, what time is it?"

"It's 3am. I woke up to you mumbling something, and then I heard you sighing and groaning. I thought you had a nightmare but then I realized that you rather enjoyed yourself and the dream, you aroused me with that and I need you. Now!" Marco said breathlessly before he continued kissing Erik.

Marco pushed their bodies closer to together, and as he had thought, Erik was as rock hard as he was. Erik shared the kiss with the same passion and moaned when Marco turned them so that Erik was laying on the ground, Marco in top of him.  
"What if someone will hear us!?" Erik asked but Marco knew he sounded far too pleased to really stop doing what they were doing.

"No one can hear us, they're already sleeping! And I don't even care, I just need you now!" Marco moaned as he slipped one of his hands under the waistband of Erik's boxers and Erik let out a louder moan. Marco caressed and stroked Erik's cock, he moved his thumb over the slit and then spread the precum Erik had leaked all over his shaft, causing Erik to shiver.

"Marco, please, I need you inside me!" Erik breathed as he removed his own boxers and then Marco's, causing Marco to moan when he touched his dick.

"Oh yes, I can't wait to fill you!" Marco moaned to Erik's ear as he licked his way down Erik's throat. He searched with one of his hands for his bag in the dark, and there he luckily soon found the small bottle of lube he had brought with him just in case this would happen. He poured the cool liquid on his fingers, and then wasted no time as he reached for Erik's entrance. Erik sighed as Marco circled his finger around the surprisingly not so tight hole.

"Please Marco just push inside!" Erik ordered and Marco obeyed, slowly pushing in his middle finger to the hilt. By now, he knew Erik's body like his own, so he reached deeper, and found the soft nub inside Erik's secret core that promised the younger one incredible pleasures.

"Oh yes, right there!" Erik repeated his words and Marco had to chuckle. He moved in and out for a while as he kissed Erik hungrily and rubbed his ass with his other hand. Soon he was able to add another finger inside his lover and he began scissoring, and massaging his inner walls gently. He pushed in a third finger and he kept brushing over Erik's prostate so that the younger one had turned into a moaning mess.

"Please Marco, I swear to God if you don't fuck me now..." Erik threatened and who was Marco to disobey his orders? He withdrew his fingers and reached his hand to the emptiness until he found the condom and ripped the package open. He moaned as he rolled it over his length and had trouble with keeping his self control when he lubed himself, and then covered Erik's body with his.

He nudged with the head of his cock against Erik's entrance and then pushed in ever so slightly, giving the muscle some time to get used to the intrusion. Erik relaxed under Marco and clung his arms around his neck, so Marco took it as a sign to push inside and he did, with one fast thrust until he was balls deep inside his love.  
"Oh God!" Both of them moaned in unison. Erik felt so tight and hot around Marco, Marco knew he wouldn't last long this time. Marco couldn't hold himself back, so he began thrusting into Erik's body. He tried to start slowly but Erik was moving back to his thrusts and moaned just as loudly as Marco so Marco gained speed and sweat started to break on his back because of his effort.

He aimed every thrust at Erik's sweet spot and the groans and sweet whines Erik produced where almost enough to drive Marco into madness. He could never get enough of his boyfriends noisy pleasure.

Marco kept thrusting and pushing even deeper, chasing his orgasm. He felt how his muscles began tightening and his pleasure grew, until it all almost became too much when he felt how Erik clenched even more around him.  
"Oh Marco!" Erik moaned, coming, his cock twitching helplessly as he shot his huge load between their bellies in endless jets.  
That was all Marco needed, he came with the next thrust when his cock was buried deep inside Erik's secret core. His lust was almost painfully intense and when he finally came the tension released itself into the sweet relaxation and oblivion.

When he finally came back to his senses, Erik was stroking his back, and whispering in his ear: "you should wake me up like this more often!"

"If I always woke up to this!" Marco chuckled. "How many dreams like this have you had?" Marco asked with genuine curiosity, the thought of Erik dreaming about him sexually was already turning him on again.

"Oh much more than you'll ever know!" Erik admitted sheepishly.

“Then, we can always change the dreams into reality so you won't have to only dream" Marco suggested with a mischievous grin and Erik just laughed.


	33. Kiss me?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this chapter might surprise you a little bit, at least I hope so :)  
> Thank for the feedback, it makes me very happy and what would make me even happier and more eager to continue this is comments so please share your opinion with me :)  
> And, thank you for Blue_Night for doing the beta reading again :)

Erik tried to turn on his other side, when he bumped into something and woke up.

"Good morning love" Erik heard Marco say and he opened his eyes, instantly seeing Marco smiling at him. Erik couldn't believe his luck that he might actually wake up to this every morning for the rest of his life.

"Good morning" Erik said as he yawned, but didn't close his eyes again, Marco was simply too beautiful.

Marco didn't say anything, he just smiled, and Erik smiled back at him, just feeling how much he loved Marco, his throat tightening, it was so overwhelming. Once again, Erik thought where would he be without Marco. He wouldn't be here, in a tent with Marco next to their teammates. He would still be deep in the closet, most likely without a boyfriend and going on with his normal boring life.

"I can't believe we actually did it," Marco mumbled and Erik nodded. They had actually told their teammates that they were a couple last night, and luckily most of them had had a reaction better than they and expected. Klopp had stood up for them, telling them about his unconditional support and Erik personally couldn't have been happier.

"Me neither, it went so well, I can't believe it," Erik said and just kept smiling.

"It did go better than we expected," Marco mused and Erik nodded again.

"And now we're not in a hurry to do anything," Erik said.

"Yes, we can just see what happens. We'll have time to think about it, and see if we ever do come out to the world, there are a lot of things that can happen. But I'm more than happy about facing some difficulties as long as I'll be with you," Marco said and Erik couldn't help but blush.

"Same here," Erik just mumbled and was about to kiss his boyfriend when they heard someone shout from the outside:

"Marco, Erik, come have breakfast so we'll get out of here before it starts to rain!" They heard Sebastian shout and both of them sighed. Erik tried to get up and just groaned when he felt how stiff his back was because of sleeping on the ground.  
"I really hate camping," Erik said as he tried to straighten his back in the small space.

"Hey I'll take that as an insult, because I very much enjoyed spending time with you in this tent," Marco said playfully and Erik punched his shoulder.

"Well, it would have been much less pleasurable if you hadn't been here," Erik said a little mockingly remembering their sex of last night. "You just attacked me last night!" Erik accused Marco but still smiling at him.

"It was all your fault! You just seduced me without even knowing it." Marco said and tried not to laugh.

"Well, you're not the one who has to sit on a motorcycle for hours after getting fucked hours ago." Erik said and blushed because of his confession. He was a little sore but it wasn't bad at all.

"Oh shit, sorry Erik, don't tell me I hurt you!?" Marco said a little afraid and turned serious that instant.

"No, you didn't hurt me, don't even think that I didn't enjoy last night because I loved it! And I wouldn't mind doing it again..." Erik said and ruffled Marco's hair to make Marco understand that he wasn't hurt.

"I'm still going to make up for it, after all this wasn't an ideal place to make love at," Marco said pointing at the ground. "I'm going to give your back a massage when we're home," Marco said and winked, and somehow Erik understood that it was going to be much more than a massage.

"Please," Erik said before he pulled on some clothes as did Marco, and went out of the tent, to face their teammates.

 

\---

 

The team was already sitting around the campfire, which had lost its flame during the night. Marco felt a little odd as he got out of the tent, and immediately everybody's eyes were on him and Erik. Suddenly, they wouldn't have to hide and their secret was known by everybody.

Marco actually felt relieved and happy at the same time. Now everybody knew the real Marco, he had nothing to hide. Marco looked at Erik and imaged that he must go through the same things, so, he decided that now wouldn't be the time to be afraid of anyone's reactions anymore. He took Erik's hand in his and began pulling him to the campfire, towards their teammates who were still looking at them.

There was space between Mats and Roman, so Marco sat next to Mats, and Erik next to Roman. Luckily, as soon as they sat there, the normal chatting continued, and the atmosphere became relaxed again, Marco knew that their teammates still had to get used to the idea of him and Erik being together, but, they would get used to it, and they had a positive attitude to do it, and that was even more than Marco had hoped for.

When they were done eating breakfast, they all agreed that it would be a good time to pack up their things and head back to Dortmund, before it would start raining. But then, just as Marco was going to get up, Mats pushed him back down on his seat, and said:

"Can we have a word?" He said and Marco just nodded. Erik looked at Marco for a while before he decided that Mats and Marco probably wanted to speak alone, so he left.

"What is it?" Marco asked, he didn't have a clue about what Mats wanted to talk about.

"You know that the guys were a bit startled today. And I think that was because after your revelation, they had reacted okay and that they had a positive attitude towards you, but, they still need time to get used to this. And the fact that some of the tents close to you woke up at 3AM to some noises that sounded a lot like moans, didn't help them trying to digest things." Mats said smiling awkwardly and Marco blushed to the deepest color of red he could manage.

"Oh shit I'm sorry," Marco said. He really hadn't thought that the others would hear them, but apparently they had been rather loud.

"It's okay Marco, the thing is that I just wanted to tell you that this will take time for them to fully understand," Mats said and Marco just nodded. Mats was right, they would take things slowly.

"Thanks for telling me," Marco said as he got up. The clouds were already looking very dark, and since Marco didn't particularly enjoy motorcycling he was sure that he'd enjoy it even less if it was raining.

"No problem, let's go pack now," Mats said and the both of them headed to the directions of their tents.

Marco got inside his and Erik's tent, where Erik was already packing their sleeping bags.

"What did Mats have to say?" Erik asked.

"Nothing much, he just said that everybody reacted well but reminded that they will still need time to fully grasp it that we're together," Marco said and left out the part of their teammates hearing their moans. Erik was usually already embarrassed enough and he certainly wouldn't need that information.

"I understand him" Erik said before again they heard someone asking for them:  
"Marco, Erik?" Asked Kevin's familiar voice, a lot quieter than what Sebastian's had been earlier.

"Yeah?" Both Marco and Erik said in unison wondering why would Kevin want to speak to them.

"Can I come inside?" Kevin asked and Erik just raised his shoulders at Marco. Marco had no idea what Kevin had in his mind but nevertheless he opened the tents zipper and Kevin came inside.

"So, what is it?" Marco asked and moved to the furthest corner in the tent, it was very tight right now when Kevin was there too.

"Uhm, well this is kind of awkward," Kevin said and blushed and now Marco seriously wondered what was going to happen. He certainly hoped that he didn't have anything against their relationship.

"What is it?" Erik asked a lot more sincerely.

"Well, ever since your coming out, I've been thinking about some things and finally got the courage to say something," Kevin began and after seeing the expecting looks on Marco's and Erik's faces he continued: "I have doubted my sexuality for a long time, and I really want to know how do I know if I am gay or not?" Kevin said his voice very insecure and normally Marco would have laughed but he saw how awkward and scared and insecure Kevin really was. Marco was about to open his mouth to speak, but Erik was faster than him.

"Kevin, usually, if you're gay you just feel it. You can't really say why you're gay, it is just something you're born with. What makes you think that you might be gay?" Erik asked and Marco just listened.

"Uhm well, I have just been checking out guys lately and had a few dreams and... I'm just not sure because I've never really done anything with a guy. And I still see women equally attractive" Kevin said and looked down.

"There's nothing to be ashamed of, Kevin" Marco said now. "Have you thought that you might be bisexual?" Marco asked. He didn't know if he was any good at this since he had never had to wonder his sexuality in that way.

"Well, yes, but still I need some kind of confirmation... That's why I came here. I wanted to ask if I could kiss either of you?" Kevin said now looking up, only too see Marco and Erik looking at him with their mouths open.


	34. Special plans

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the such a long wait for this chapter, I didn't have any ideas how to continue but Blue_Night gave me a wonderful idea and also did the beta reading for this chapter again so a special thank you goes that way!   
> I hope that you like this chapter and as always, feedback would mean a lot to me, :-)

Erik looked at Kevin with his mouth hanging open when he heard Marco chuckling.  
"Sorry Kevin, but no," Marco said and Erik visibly relaxed. He didn't think he could have managed to watch his boyfriend kiss another man, nor did he think that he could kiss anyone else than Marco anymore. "If you really find yourself attracted to men, you'll know it without kissing someone, at least in my opinion. Kissing either of us wouldn't help because you don't have any feelings for either of us, isn't that so?" Marco asked.

"No, God no. I just thought that kissing either of you would give me a confirmation," Kevin said and blushed.

"I agree with Marco, kissing either of us wouldn't help. It would only be awkward and you wouldn't be able to think about the kiss itself, nor its ehm, effects, on you," Erik said and awkwardly hid himself behind Marco.

"If you say so," Kevin said, sounding defeated, and he was about to get out of the tent, but Marco stopped him. "Don't go yet. Maybe, we couldn't help you with this, but there are a few clubs you could go to. Also, I can try setting you up with one of my friends who I know is gay. If you come to the next 'Cocaine' party I'm going to organize with Marcel, I could maybe introduce you to the guys there. How does that sound?" Marco asked and Erik smiled at his boyfriend's thoughtfulness.

"Uh, wow that sounds great! Thank you Marco!" Kevin said, his eyes sparkling again.

"No problem at all, I'll text you the details later," Marco said and started packing again.

"That would be perfect, I'll leave you two now," Kevin said and was about to leave before he stopped. "By the way, I'm happy for you guys, you really seem perfect for each other," Kevin said and then left, leaving Marco and Erik in the tent. They smiled at each other tenderly, they knew that Kevin was right. For now, they would have some peaceful time together, without any future stress in front of them.

 

\---

 

The next few weeks really were 'domestic bliss' for Erik and Marco. They went to training together, they lived together and spend time together, getting to know each other even better and falling in love with each other even more if it was even possible. They also spend some time with Marco's family, and Marco could see that Erik missed his family, a lot. His family had an apartment in Dortmund, but most of the time they stayed in Pirmasens, Erik's home town.

Marco hoped to see Erik's parents more as well, and since he knew that Erik missed them dearly, he had planned something. They would soon have a few days without training and Erik was probably just expecting that they would spend the time together in Dortmund, but Marco had other plans.

Marco just managed to put his laptop away one day when Erik returned from shopping. He had been searching on Google to see how long the way from Dortmund to Pirmasens would be. It would be about 350 kilometers, which wasn't too bad. Marco smiled at himself, hopefully Erik would like his plans, as well. Marco heard Erik walking to the living room and already made some space for him on the couch.

"Welcome back, darling," Marco said and kissed his boyfriend sweetly. He couldn't even describe how he felt like he fell in love with Erik more every second.

"I wasn't away for that long, but thank you. Why are you smiling so brightly?" Erik asked as he saw Marco's face.

"Just seeing you makes me smile like this," Marco said but as Erik gently punched him he got more serious. "Okay okay, I have a suggestion for you, which I hope you will like." Erik's face lit up with anticipation instantly and he smiled as well. "What is it?"

"Well, I have planned something for the next few days we're going to have off, soon. I know that you haven't seen your family in a long time, now that they're in Pirmasens again and I thought that maybe we could visit them." Erik's face shone bright now and Marco could see the excitement and happiness in his eyes.  
"Really?! Marco I'd love to visit them! What have you planned?" Erik asked.

"Nothing in particular, anything you want babe. I don't know a lot about Pirmasens or the Pfälzer Wald area, so maybe you could show me around a bit?" Marco asked and Erik nodded eagerly. "Yes, I know the area quite well, and to be honest, it would be lovely if I could show you all the places where I spent time as a kid and all the places that I'd like you to see. There are some quite spectacular castles and ruins there, I'd love to visit a few of them, it's been a rather long time since I've last been in the Pfälzer Wald. Visiting them together with you would be great and since you once told me that you like history, I think that you might find the various castles interesting, too."

"I'd love to visit them with you even if I didn't like history, but you're right, I do like history and it would be wonderful to visit the places you obviously like so much. I don't mind seeing your family too, I'm sure we'll have a wonderful time together," Marco said and stroked Erik's hand. He was pleased at how much Erik liked his plan and he was even more happy that he had made his boyfriend so happy.

"Surely we will! But don't worry, we don't have to spend all the time with my parents. My mother can be quite a lot to take if you haven't known her for a long time, believe me. We can stay in my old nursery, our home there is quite big, so don't worry we won't be around my parents twenty-four hours a day," Erik explained and blushed at his own excitement, but Marco just kissed his cheek, he loved seeing Erik like this.

"That sounds lovely, honey, but don't worry about it. I'm positive that everything will turn out great, and I'm sure I will enjoy spending all the time together with you," Marco said and Erik nodded.

"I hope so. Thank you Marco, this was very thoughtful of you. I've really missed my family, and it's going to be nice to see them and moreover, it will be nice to be together with you, outside Dortmund, as well."  
"I'll take you further away one day, too. One day it will be just you and me, on a lonely island, enjoying the sun and the stars above our head without anything disturbing us," Marco said and kissed Erik again. He was really longing to have all that with Erik and he would, one day. They had the future in front of them.

"I can't wait," Erik said and snuggled closer to Marco's side. There was a comfortable silence between them and Marco was about to propose going to the bedroom before he remembered one important detail that could make their trip even better for Erik.

"By the way, I just googled something. The distance between Dortmund and Pirmasens is around 350 kilometers, right? I was thinking that maybe you'd like us to go there with your motorcycle, would you like that?" Marco asked and was surprised as Erik just chuckled.

"No Marco, you wouldn't like that, to be honest. You ass would hurt a lot when we'd get there, after all, it's quite a long way and we can't be sure of the weather. We should go by car," Erik said and Marco frowned. "But you like motorcycling so much, I want it to be perfect for you!" He said.

"Marco, I appreciate your thoughtfulness, a lot, really. But going by car is the best option for us, and we could still ride a motorcycle there. I have one bike left there that I used to drive when I was younger. It is a little old by now, but it has its charm. Once we have spent some time with my parents, we can take the motorcycle and ride it to some of the castles, maybe?" Erik said and smiled as he saw Marco letting out a relieved sigh.

"That sounds perfect," Marco said, relieved. He had already feared for his ass when he had seen the distance between Dortmund and Erik's previous hometown and was glad that Erik agreed with him that going there by car was the best option.  
"We're surely going to have a great time," Erik said and kissed Marco's forehead. "I can't thank you enough, you're the best boyfriend anyone could wish for."  
"And I love to please you, because you are being the best boyfriend I could ever imagine having," Marco said and sealed their plans with a kiss upon Erik's lips.


	35. Meeting the family

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for your lovely feedback on the latest chapter, it made me very happy! :-)   
> I hope that you'll enjoy this chapter as well and once again thank you Blue_Night for doing the best beta reading, thank you dear! :-)

The next few days passed by, quickly, and soon, it was time for Marco, Erik and for the rest of the team to have a few days off. They had their last training on Monday and they would have vacation until Thursday, because there was not going to be a midweek game. Erik had almost been whistling as they had said goodbye to their teammates and headed home, he was clearly in a good mood. They were going to eat at home and then, start their drive to Pirmasens, where they'd spend a night at the house of Erik's parents.

Marco had to admit that he was excited, too, Erik's excitement had transmitted to him. He was looking forward to meeting Erik's parents and his sister, just like Erik was, but most of all, he was excited about spending some more quality time with his boyfriend, this time out of Dortmund.

When they got home, they ate quickly and checked their baggage again, wanting to be sure that they had everything they could possibly need for the couple of days they would spend away from home. They had only eaten a light lunch because Erik had assured Marco that his mother would prepare them dinner later when they'd arrive in Primasens. Erik's mother had been thrilled about Erik finally bringing his boyfriend home.

Marco had never officially met Erik's parents so far. After he had told Erik about his plans to visit Pirmasens, Erik had called his parents and told them that they actually knew Marco. He had only mentioned that he had a boyfriend called Marco before. Erik's parents had been surprised, but only positively so.

Marco had been slightly nervous about meeting Erik's parents and actually staying in their home for a while. Erik had noticed it, so he had suggested something that had made Marco feel a lot more at ease with meeting Erik's parents for the first time. They had video chatted via Skype, a few days earlier. Marco had gotten a great first impression of Erik's parents who seemed to be easy going and kind. They had welcomed Marco to their home back then already and told him that they'd surely have a great time together. Erik had blushed at some of the things his mother had told about him, but Marco had just found it adorable, he was actually looking forward to finding out more things about Erik which Erik probably wouldn't tell him himself.

Even after the video call Marco was nervous about meeting Erik's parents face to face for the first time, but Marco was a positive person, and he had a good feeling about going to Pirmasens, nevertheless. Erik had asked him if he had any worries, but Marco had just said that he didn't, he wanted Erik to enjoy the time together with his parents, fully, not having to worry about him.

Erik started the car smiling happily and soon, they were on their way to the nearly four hour drive to Erik's hometown.

 

\---

 

Marco stood behind the door of a neat and rather big detached house not far from downtown Pirmasens. Erik and he had driven them there, with only one stop on their way. There hadn't been much traffic on their way, which was more than only a small miracle, and Erik had driven at ease with Marco's hand resting on his thigh, occasionally. Marco himself had marveled about the landscape of the part of Germany he didn't know. The sceneries had been spectacular along their way, and Marco found himself getting more excited about the upcoming time they'd spend outdoors.

Marco had insisted on stopping to buy flowers for Erik's parents, he hadn't wanted to go to visit them empty-handed, even though Erik had tried to assure him that he wouldn't need to buy anything.

Marco straightened his jacket as Erik took his hand and knocked on the door, even though he still had a key. Marco felt sweat running down his back, it had been a while since he had visited other parents than his own. He took a few deep breaths and glanced at Erik, whose smile was even brighter than it had been when they had departed Dortmund.

The door opened and a woman in her early fifties emerged on the threshold, with a smile on her face that reminded Marco a lot of Erik's smile. The woman smiled at Marco for a brief moment before she turned to Erik and hugged him straight away. "Oh Erik, I've missed you so much! It's good to have you back home again!" She said before she pulled away. "Happy to see you again, too, mom," Erik said and never let go of Marco's hand, which made Marco deeply grateful. Marco gulped as he saw the gaze of Erik's mother turn to him, again. She still had a smile on her face and before Marco knew if, she pulled him in for a hug, just like Erik.

"Lovely to finally meet you too, Marco," she said as she looked at Marco. Marco glanced back at her with a shy smile on his face, but with a more relieved mind, Erik's mother seemed to be really nice. "These are for you Frau Durm," Marco said and handed Erik's mother the flowers.

"Oh, how kind of you!" Erik's mother said, delightedly, and smelled at the flowers as Erik's father approached from the hall. Marco was back at his nervous state, meeting a boyfriend's father was always slightly different from meeting the mother. When they had talked via Skype, Erik's father hadn't been so talkative, and Marco wished that this wasn't going to be the case now when they met. "Nice to meet you, Herr Durm," Marco said politely, stretching his arm towards the tall man in front of him.

"Nice to meet you, Marco and please, call me Carl," Erik's father said and shook Marco's hand with a warm smile on his face. Marco finally relaxed, and Erik rubbed his thumb over Marco's palm, wordlessly telling him that it was going well. "It's a pleasure to finally meet both of you. I'm very happy to be here," Marco said and smiled at both of Erik's parents, who smiled back at him with as much happiness.

"We're more than happy to have you here Marco!" Erik's mother explained eagerly and handed her husband the flowers. "Yes we definitely are, but we should get inside, shouldn't we? Surely the boys are hungry after traveling all day!" Carl said, before all of them stepped inside and Marco finally allowed himself to completely relax.

 

\---

 

The dinner with Erik's parents went really well and Erik surely hadn't exaggerated when he had said that his mother was a great cook. She had made goulash which happened to be Marco's favorite food. Marco had enjoyed having dinner with Erik's parents very much. Carl and Anne Durm were friendly and kind towards Marco, treating him like their own son.

After dinner, Erik and Marco had helped Erik's mother to clean the kitchen, before Erik's father had called Marco to come to the living room with him. Marco had looked at Erik with worry written all over his face, he had had no idea why Carl wanted to talk to him. Erik had just shrugged his shoulders at Marco and continued to help his mother, while Marco had nervously wiped his hands clean and then, headed to the living room, where he already saw Erik's father sitting in a large arm chair.

"Herr Durm?" Marco asked, as he sat on the couch next to the arm chair, still nervously, but relaxed as he saw that Erik's father was still smiling.

"Didn't I tell you to call me Carl, Marco? Don't be nervous, this isn't anything serious, I just wanted to talk to you," Carl said and Marco nodded. He still didn't know what to expect from their talk, but he was willing to listen. "I just wanted to tell you that I'm glad that you're with Erik. Erik is a lot happier now than what he was a few months ago. He didn't particularly enjoy his life too much before you stepped in. He was alone quite much and me and my wife oftentimes felt bad for him having to live alone in Dortmund. Of course, he had his friends, but it's never the same. It's good to know that you're with him now, keeping him company."

Marco was left speechless as he gaped at Erik's father. He had known that Erik had been rather lonely before, but he hadn't expected that his parents also knew about it, and that his father was now thanking him about keeping Erik company. "You don't really have to thank me, I'm happy to keep Erik company and I assure you that I'm going to be there for Erik through the good and bad, I want to be the best partner your son could have," Marco said, even surprising himself with the words, but he meant them. Yes, their relationship was young, but he couldn't imagine loving someone else more than Erik.

"I'm sure that you will, Marco," Carl said, offering Marco yet another kind smile. "Remember that you're a part of the family now, you're always welcome here so don't feel bothered by anything." Marco was about to answer Erik's father, before Erik stepped to the living room, together with his mother. They said that they were done with the kitchen and joined Marco and Erik's father, joining in the conversation. Erik sat next to Marco on the couch, and Marco found himself getting more comfortable with being with Erik's parents as time passed by.

It was getting really late at night and soon, almost everybody was yawning. It was Erik who suggested that they should go to bed and catch some sleep if they wanted to be active tomorrow. Marco had nodded and again thanked Erik's parents for their hospitality before he and Erik had walked upstairs to Erik's old room, where they had unpacked. They both then proceeded to go through their bedtime routine, Erik's first and Marco the second. When Marco came back to Erik's bedroom, he saw Erik smiling, already lying in the bed. "So what do you think of my parents?"

"They're lovely people. Very kind and it's heart-warming to see how much they love you," Marco said and climbed onto the bed, finding himself almost glued to Erik instantly, due to the size of the bed.

"I'm happy to hear that you like them. Also sorry for the bed, it isn't too big because I really didn't have too many people having a sleepover with me back then when I was still living here," Erik said, blushing adorably as Marco snuggled even closer, their faces only inches away from each other.

"Oh I surely don't mind being this close to you," Marco said. He took Erik's face in his hands and kissed him deeply, soon drowning in the kiss as badly as Erik. Marco caressed Erik's mouth who responded to the kiss in the most perfect way and soon, they were both gasping for air. "M-Marco, stop. It. I- not here," Erik panted, out of breath. Marco pulled away raising his eyebrows, never had Erik not wanted to continue kissing before. "Not here, I can't with my parents only meters away," Erik said with a deep blush. Marco just kissed his cheek, of course he understood, he probably couldn't have done that, either, if his parents had been sleeping only a few doors away.

"It's alright babe, we should sleep anyway. Are we going to visit some of the castles tomorrow?" Marco asked as he lay down next to Erik.

"Yes, I thought about going to the 'Dahner Burgengruppe'. It's not too far from here, and it's really spectacular there," Erik said and rested his head on Marco's chest.

"Dahner Burgengruppe it is," Marco said and kissed Erik's hair gently. He hoped that tomorrow could be as perfect as this day had been.


	36. The Pfälzer Wald

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for your feedback on this story, it means so much!  
> I want to thank you Blue_Night once again, thank you dear, this chapter goes to you for giving me the inspiration and ideas to write this chapter the way it is!  
> I hope that you'll like this chapter :-)

"Bye mom, bye dad!" Erik called as he closed the garage door.

Erik and Marco had woken up early today, to have breakfast together with Erik's parents before leaving to explore the Pfälzer Wald. Marco had been very happy after having woken up with his limbs entangled with Erik's. They had fitted perfectly in the bed, even though it had felt a little tight at first. Most of all, Marco had been happy because there was going to be something new in their lives today. They wouldn't have to go through the same routine they always went through when they stayed in Dortmund.

After waking up, they had stayed in bed a little while longer, just cuddling until both of their rumbling stomachs had forced them to get up and start their day. Breakfast with Erik's parents had gone just as smoothly as dinner yesterday, if not even better. Marco found himself being more involved in the conversation, feeling more free. During breakfast, Erik had explained their plans to visit the castles to his parents, and they had also agreed that the Dahner Burgengruppe was a great place for Marco to visit first, since he hadn't explored any of the castles of the Pfälzer Wald area before.

After they had eaten, they had just gotten dressed and went down to the garage, where Erik in fact had a motorcycle as he had said. The motorcycle actually belonged to Erik's father, and Erik had mostly only been the pillion rider, since he had been too small to drive it for a rather long time. Now, he had grown up a lot and learned to handle the big motorcycle Marco was standing in front of.

The Yamaha Royal Star 1300 really looked 'royal' as her name told. Marco's eyes followed Erik who approached the motorbike and gently ran his fingers over the shining paint job that still looked like it was brand new. Erik smiled as he turned around, to look at Marco, who smiled too. He was so glad to see Erik this happy, clearly looking forward to motorcycling and spending the day with Marco.

"We're gonna drive that?" Marco asked, just to confirm.

"Yeah. Don't worry, she isn't as scary as she looks like," Erik snickered, as he handed Marco a helmet. 

"Scary? No, this bike isn't scary."

"How come?"

"This is different. She looks elegant and calm, somehow, even though I know she probably has a lot of horsepower. She is just a lot different from your bike at home, this one is truly a royalty!" Marco laughed as he shook his head. Yeah, this motorcycle was a lot more to his liking than the Ducati Erik drove at home, the bike that just screamed of speed and power.

"Well, I'm glad you like her, she isn't meant to race along the motorway, but for comfortable riding along the winding country roads. Not too winding, of course, considering her weight and size!" Erik affirmed him, as he put on his own helmet.

"That's good to hear, because I'd really like to see the landscape a little, too!" Marco said as Erik ruffled his hair before he managed to put on his helmet.

"Don't worry Marco, we'll take our time. I want to see the beautiful sceneries, too, it's been too long since the last time," Erik said as he climbed onto the motorcycle, Marco following him onto the passenger seat.

Marco murmured a silent prayer as he made himself more comfortable on his seat, he still hadn't completely managed to get rid of his fear of motorcycling. He wrapped his hands tightly around Erik's torso as Erik started the engine and drove out of the garage.

Erik drove through Pirmasens and Marco got a totally new look of the town. Last night, it had already been dark when they had arrived, now he saw everything in much better light. The town itself was beautiful, filled with old buildings, some almost medieval. Pirmasens however wasn't big, and soon, Erik had already driven further away from the town, to a road located between the forests.

The woods stood proud and strong throughout the entire drive along the country road winding its way smoothly through the breathtaking landscape, and if Marco hadn't been amazed before, he definitely became excited when Erik exited the highway and started to drive along a smaller road, heading slightly upwards. The trees still surrounded them, each more beautiful than the other. Marco almost felt dizzy as he glanced upwards and saw nothing but trees reaching for the sky. It was simply mesmerizing.  
The weather was bright and warm, Erik accelerated the speed a little bit but Marco didn't even notice, he was simply elated by the beautiful sceneries and his boyfriends strong body in his arms. This was going to be a perfect day.

 

\---

 

Erik drove to a clear meadow not far from the road. He knew that the place was peaceful enough for them to have a nice picnic, without being disturbed by other people.

He shut down the engine, sensing how Marco was stretching his back behind him. Erik smiled at himself, he had known that a break would do Marco good. He climbed off the motorcycle, Marco behind his heels. He unfastened one of the bags hanging on the side of the bike and took it with him, as he took Marco's hand and headed to the edge of the clearing.

"What are we doing?"

"We're going to have a picnic," Erik announced, smiling as he noticed Marco's delighted expression.

"How lovely!" Marco said, his words however silencing at the end because of the sudden gasp he let out as he saw the view. "Oh Erik, this is so beautiful!"

"It is," Erik said as he sat down and looked at the view himself. The sight truly was spectacular, it was almost as if they could see the entire Pfälzer Wald in front of them. The meadow was located on a higher place not far from the Dahner Burgengruppe, where he and Marco would head next.

"Did you plan on bringing me here in the first place?" Marco asked as he squeezed Erik's hand in an appreciating gesture.

"Yes. I often came here as a child, too. Not only because of the view, but also because of the peacefulness of this place. It's truly magnificent to be here during the night, just surrounded by the stars and the silence," Erik mused, going back to the nights in his childhood when he had been here camping in his mind.

"I'm glad that you brought me here. Seriously, thank you for showing me this place, it's so beautiful here, but that's not the most important thing. This is your home and I'm delighted to get to know more about it," Marco said, looking around. Erik followed Marco's gaze but didn't find anything and before Erik knew it, he felt Marco's tender lips on his. Erik contentedly answered Marco's chaste kiss, before he pulled away.

"We should eat," Erik said as he started to hand Marco some of the food, wanting to get on with their day.

 

\---

 

A little while later, Erik drove back down the same road they had gone up, and headed to the highway again.

Erik had told Marco that they'd now go to visit the group of three castles standing on a little hill not far away from the place where they had had the picnic. Marco felt excited like a little child already, he had expected that this day would be interesting, but he hadn't expected to be this excited, even though they hadn't even seen any of the castles yet.

They had driven by a few, though. Marco had gasped at their beauty, he had never seen anything like this before in his life from so close. Now, Erik was going to take him to one of the castles - or three of them, actually, and Marco was sure that it was going to be a wonderful experience, just like their ride had been so far.

The scenery seemed to get even more spectacular with every kilometer Erik drove, and Marco almost didn't notice the huge motorcycle purring and vibrating contentedly underneath him anymore. All he could focus on was Erik's presence and the way he skillfully maneuvered the motorcycle up the little steeper hill they were climbing.

Marco gasped for the second time, as they turned around the corner, when he finally could see the three impressive castles they were going to visit, the Dahner Burgengruppe, which included the castles Altdahn, Grafendahn and Tanstein. The three castles stood proudly side by side, on top of a hill that looked over the Pfälzer Wald. The three castles were truly astonishing, they didn't look like they'd be in bad condition at all, even though they had been built the 12th and the 13th century, respectively. Marco was almost about to get off the motorcycle before he noticed that Erik hadn't even stopped yet and they had around a kilometer yet to go, so he held himself back. 

In school, Marco had been excited about two things, sports and history. Sports had ended up giving him his living and history was still close to his heart. He had read about some of the castles of the Pfälzer Wald from his history books is school, and to see some of the castles in reality, was really exciting, Marco barely was able to hide his excitement. As soon as Erik had stopped, he got off the bike and took his helmet off to properly look around.

"Wow, this is amazing!" Marco said as he gazed at Erik who had also taken his helmet off.

"It certainly is, I'm happy to hear that you like it," Erik said, glancing around like Marco did, obviously happy to be there himself.

"I don't like it, I love it!" Marco said, still looking around, gladly noticing that there weren't many other visitors around.

"Wait until you see the insides of the castles then," Erik said as he pointed at the first castle, castle Altdahn.

"What are you waiting for then, take me there!" Marco said excitedly. Erik smiled tenderly, guiding Marco to the entrance of the castle.

 

\---

 

It truly was a perfect day. Erik greatly enjoyed Marco's company, his boyfriend kept asking him questions and marveling at the views they saw between the castles, before they entered another one. Erik answered him as encompassingly as he could, even though he was no historian, he had heard a great deal of different stories telling interesting things about the castles and their history, when he had been a child.

Erik had also enjoyed the visit itself, since it had been a rather long time since he had visited some of the castles himself. The three castles of the Dahner Burgengruppe were one of his favorite ancient ruins to visit. The memories of his childhood flooded his mind and made him smile, it was wonderful to be back to the places where he had enjoyed being as a child, together with Marco who enjoyed the visit, too.

It was already dark when they were going to walk back to their starting point from the last castle, and not a soul was around them. Erik had taken Marco's hand and now held it lovingly.

"Thank you for bringing me here, Erik, I truly loved it here," Marco said, probably for the thousand time.

"You don't have to thank me, Marco, it was my pleasure to take you here," Erik replied with a tender smile.

"But do you know what made this visit really special?" Marco asked, a little cheekily.  
"What?"

"I had the best guide in the world," Marco said, and Erik couldn't help but smile as he searched for Marco's lips with his own. He nearly reached Marco, before he suddenly felt the land under his feet crumbling, and before he knew it, he was sliding down a steep hill, Marco's hand no longer on his own.


	37. Down

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for giving this story feedback and still reading it, it means a lot :-)   
> Here's another chapter, which sadly ends in another sort of a cliffhanger, but I hope that you'll like in nevertheless.   
> Once again, thank you Blue_Night for doing the beta reading, thank you, dear :-)

Erik!" Marco screamed as he suddenly felt Erik's hand disappearing.

Marco didn't know what had happened, they had just been about to kiss, when Erik had apparently lost his footing, and was now sliding down the steep hill. They had just stood on the edge, Marco had had no idea that the land on Erik's side could be unstable enough to break underneath him.

"Erik!" Marco yelled again, as he heard the sound of his boyfriend rolling down the steep hill stop.

Marco was terrified, it was dark now, and he couldn't even see Erik through the darkness. He didn't know whether Erik was injured or not, he didn't know if Erik was even conscious. Marco had seen the hills during daytime, but, they had decided to take a more secluded route back to their starting point, and Marco wasn't completely aware of where they were.

"Marco! Step back, step further away from the edge of the path!" Marco heard Erik's painful groan coming from somewhere beneath him. Relief ran through Marco's body as he heard Erik's voice, but at the same time, horrible worry and pain filled his mind as he sensed that Erik was clearly in pain.

"Erik! Are you alright?! I won't leave you, I swear!" Marco shouted, guided by his instincts.

"Marco, I'm begging you, step back, you can't fall, too!" Erik said again, this time more clearly, and Marco obeyed him, taking one step back closer to the center of the path. He still didn't have a clear image of his surroundings, night had fallen quite quickly and his eyes weren't yet used to the darkness.

"I'm further away now. Erik, please, tell me, are you alright!? What happened, did you fall down very deep?" Marco called back, hoping that he could still hear Erik's voice even though he had stepped back a little further away.

"Good," Erik said, a little quieter than before. "I had no idea that the land could break, we must have walked too close to the edge without either of us noticing it. I fell down, maybe about ten meters," Erik answered and Marco groaned.

"Erik, you're not answering my question, are you alright? I'm worried sick!" Marco yelled, he had heard the pain in Erik's voice, he knew that he wasn't alright. He felt pain himself, he felt pain because he couldn't be there for Erik, he couldn't do anything to his pain.

"I'm alright, Marco, believe me. I rolled down here on my side, I didn't hit my head, I only hurt my ankle a little bit as I stopped rolling. My hand hurts, too, but nothing is broken, as far as I can tell," Erik explained, and Marco heard him trying to move.

"Don't move! We can't know for sure how injured you are. How are we going to get you back up?" Marco groaned, looking around to see anything. There was not a soul around anymore, so calling for help was out of question.

"I'm not injured, believe me I'd know if something was broken. My ankle might be sprained, but it doesn't hurt too badly. Calm down," Erik reassured him, but Marco just sighed aggressively.

"A sprained ankle doesn't calm me down! What are we going to do now?" Marco asked, completely helpless in this situation, he had no idea what to do.

"Well, I don't think that I can get out of here by myself anymore. It's too dark to see anything, I don't know how deep I have fallen down, but as far as my memory goes, the drop on this place is around ten meters. The hill is too steep to climb, and based on my clothing, it is also quite muddy. Around me there's only forest, I can't go there either, I'd get lost. Do you have your phone with you, could you call for help, maybe? I left my phone in the bag of the Royal Star."

"I have my phone, but I ran out of battery when I was taking so many pictures, fuck what are we going to do?!" Marco groaned again, he felt horrible not being able to help Erik, and the uncertainty about what could happen was killing him. Erik stayed silent at the bottom of the hill, and Marco was starting to get slightly worried, especially since it was starting to rain a little bit. "Erik, babe?" He called.

"I don't know what to do, Marco. You could go back to the motorcycle and search for a flashlight from there, but I assume that you don't know the way, right?"

"No, I don't. The darkness isn't helping, either."

"There isn't much we can do then. I mean, since no one is around, there isn't anyone we could call for help, either."

"But there must be something we can do! Maybe you can advice me a way to our bike, maybe there are some people there?" Marco asked, still completely helpless. What were they supposed to do, spend the night there, Erik in the ditch, Marco on the path?

"No, the way there is too complicated, I took this path on purpose so that we could have some privacy," Erik groaned. "I'm sorry Marco, this is all my fault. I shouldn't have gone off the main road."

"Don't be sorry, Erik! This wasn't your fault, and I'm fine here, it's who is injured. There must be a way to get out of here! Won't your parents get worried about where we are? Shouldn't they start to look for us?"

"No, they won't come looking. I had planned on taking you to this holiday lodge we have near by, to spend the night there to have some peace. They surely assume that we're there," Erik explained. "I really think that we're stuck here for the night. Or well, at least I am, you should try to find some shelter, especially because it starts raining."

"Have you lost your mind?!" Marco shouted. "Erik, there's no way in hell I'd leave you alone there!" Marco wanted to scream, how could Erik even think that he'd leave him there alone? Yes, Marco was a little scared himself about the possibility of having to spend the night there, in the darkness, with only Erik's voice as his company, but he would never ever leave Erik alone in such a situation. Even if Erik knew the area well, he couldn't even stand the thought of him having to be alone there, in the bottom of the ditch, covered in mud with a sprained ankle.

"I am serious, I don't want you to catch a cold or something on top of all," Erik answered back.

"I won't catch a cold Erik, this motorcycle jacket I'm wearing is very warm. And the night won't last that long, will it? After all, once the daylight breaks we can make another plan," Marco said, trying to think rationally himself.

"If you really say so. I'm sorry, I had no idea that this could happen. These few days we have off should've been perfect, I've ruined it now."

"Yes I say so, and no, you haven't ruined it. It was an accident, you couldn't have known that this would happen. And you know, the idea about spending the night at the lodge was really beautiful. This isn't the end of the world, we can surely spend another night there, in the future," Marco said, emotionally. Erik had had such good intentions, and surely the night in the lodge would've been wonderful.

"Still. Now we're going to have to spend hours here in the nature, what if there will wild hogs show up or something like this?" Erik groaned, obviously still kicking himself. 

"There won't be any wild hogs, don't worry, and we'll be alright," Marco said, trying to calm down his disappointed, sad and scared boyfriend.

"How do you know?"

"As long as we'll have each other, we'll be fine. We'll get through these hours together," Marco said. He knew that they'd get through the night, as long as they had each other and he kept talking to Erik. Together, they were strong, even if they couldn't touch, but the connection between them was strong enough to overcome everything, they only had to believe in it.


	38. Will get to you

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all the lovely feedback I had gotten, it is very important and makes me very happy!   
> Also, thank you Blue_Night for doing the beta reading, thank you dear!   
> I hope that you'll enjoy this chapter :-)

It had been roughly about two hours since Erik had fallen down, and Marco and Erik were still sitting on the same spots. It was still dark, although Erik could see that the sky was starting to clear slowly. Hopefully the stars would shine brightly and the moon would present itself as soon as the clouds would move aside.

Erik had tried to come up with a plan ever since his first conversation with Marco, but he still hadn't come up with anything rational. In theory, he knew that there would be a staircase not far away from where he was still sitting, but he couldn't be too sure, and he wasn't crazy enough to take the risk of hobbling even further away from Marco without knowing if he could actually find the stairs.

Marco had kept talking to him, trying to distract him and himself from the situation they were in. Marco had tried to go on with normal chatter, even though Erik knew that Marco was just as worried and scared as he was, if not even more. Marco wasn't used to being in the wilderness like Erik was, after all. Marco was out of his territory, all alone on the path, with nothing but darkness and the voices of the night surrounding them.

Erik had heard Marco move once or twice, and reminded him that he shouldn't move towards him, so that he wouldn't fall like he had. Marco's voice had trembled a couple of times when Erik had heard an owl howling not far away from him. Erik knew that Marco was scared, and he wished that there was a way for him to comfort him, but sadly, Erik hadn't yet figured out a way to get up.

Marco was talking something about what they could have done at the lodge if they had actually made it there, when Erik heard a huge branch break not far away from him, causing the area around them to echo. Marco stopped talking, and Erik heard him whimper. Marco had been brave with trying to hide his fears from Erik as best as he could, but after a couple of hours, his walls were starting to break down.

"Marco?" Erik called, almost hearing how Marco's teeth must shatter at the moment.

"Y-yes?" Marco called back.

"Don't be afraid, I'm right here. That noise was just a branch falling down somewhere in the forest, it happens quite often here," Erik said, remembering how he had been quite afraid of the sounds some of the big branches made when they had fallen down when he had been a little child.

"That just caught me off guard," Marco explained. "I know that you're there, I just wish that I could do something. I feel so helpless, I should be smarter in order to do something and help us both!"

"No, don't think that way, Marco. There's nothing we can do for now, and we're alright now, aren't we?"

"Yes, but we can't know for how long," Marco said. "It's been probably two hours already, and the daylight won't be here in another two."

"You're right, but you said it yourself. As long as we have each other, we'll be fine, won't we?" Erik asked, still touched by his boyfriend's words.

"Yes. I mean it."

"I'm meaning it too. Seriously, I don't know where I would be without you by my side. Ever since we started to get together, you have been my life."

"You have become my life, too. I don't even know what I did before I had you in my life."

"I thank God every day for you being here, Marco."

"And I'm thankful that you forgave me all the times I fucked up, like the photo on BILD, the time I was drunk and didn't concentrate on you, the times I didn't prioritize you."

"Marco, there's no need to be thankful for that. Of course I forgave you. You're everything I could ever dream of, believe me, I don't think I could have a better boyfriend than you, ever," Erik said, letting his feelings out.

"Erik you have no idea how damn much I want to kiss you right now," Marco said. "You're the best, I love you so much."

"I love you too, Erik said and sighed. His urge to touch and kiss Marco was almost overwhelming, he just wished he could hold him in his arms right now.

Silence fell between them again, after the rather emotional talk they had just had. Marco did seem to be calmer now, just like Erik was. The prospect of that once, they'd be out of this situation, he could hold Marco in his arms, gave him so much more energy and willpower to get through the next hours before the sun would come up again. Erik closed his eyes and imagined having Marco next to him, being able to kiss him, touch him and feel him...  
Erik probably lost track of time as he kept dreaming, since he flinched when he heard Marco calling for him.

"Erik? Erik can you see? I think that it's clearer now, at least I can see a few meters further!"

Erik hastily opened his eyes and looked around, indeed noticing that he could actually see now. "Yes! I can see, at least a little further!" Erik said and immediately tried to get up. His ankle hurt a bit, but it was bearable.

"Don't hurt your ankle!" Marco yelled.

"I won't!" Erik said as he got up, stretching his limbs as he squinted his eyes. He now could see forward, at least for a few meters. He inspected the surroundings, scarcely detecting where they were. On his right side, he could see woods, on his left, he could see the hill, but if he looked straight forward, alongside the hill, he could see something akin to an old ruin.

Erik hobbled forward a few steps, trying to get a closer look of the ruin in front of him, before he gasped. Yes, now he knew exactly where they were.

"Erik, can you see?"

"Yes, I can! I know where we are, I might know how we can get out of here!" Erik said, almost squeaking in excitement. He knew where they were, he remembered having played next to the ruin as a child. He knew that close by it, there was an ancient staircase that could get him on the main path, where he would see Marco again.

"What? Are you sure?" Marco said, walking to the same direction as Erik was going, only meters higher than him.

"Yes! There's a staircase not far away from here, if I remember correctly.” Erik began to limb towards it, his face lightening up as his vision cleared and he did in fact see a staircase in front of him. It wasn't used anymore, and there was a lot of vegetation on top of it, making it almost invincible, but Erik's memories helped him.

"Can you see it?" Marco asked.

"Yes, I can. I think I can climb up back, as soon as I find the steps," Erik said, with his hands moving some of the plants out of the way. He could detect some steps, even though they were a little wrought and seemed unevenly balanced. It should do though, he could get up. He had to get up.

"Are you sure that you can get up? What if it's slippery, just like the hill?" Marco asked.

"No, it isn't slippery. And I think I can, yes, just give me a little time," Erik said, climbing on the first step, groaning as he felt a stinging pain in his ankle, but he ignored it.

"Don't move if your ankle hurts! Maybe I should come down, to help you?" Marco asked, concerned.

"No, don't! Let's not risk you being stuck here, too, and I really think that I can get up. The ankle doesn't hurt too much, and once I'm closer to you, you can pull me up," Erik said, and took the next cautious step.

Erik carefully climbed up, taking careful steps and clearing his way with his hands along the way. He had taken about ten steps, when he could now see Marco, looking down at him. His face was concerned, and it shone brightly, almost angel-like in the dim moon light as he searched for Erik's figure with his eyes. Erik couldn't help but sigh in relief when he saw his boyfriend, Marco's eyes finding him at the same time.

"Erik!" Marco said, reaching closer down to see Erik better.

"I'm coming, just a few more steps," Erik said and took the final two steps before he could touch Marco's reaching hand. Erik took both of Marco's hands, and with some effort Marco helped him get over the last two higher steps, and pulled him into his arms.

Erik was almost crushed by Marco's hug as Marco pulled him closer to the center of the path, collapsing there with Erik on top of him. Erik inhaled the sweet scent of the love of his life and put his arms around him, letting out a silent sob against his neck. He felt so relieved, finally being back to Marco and knowing that they would be alright. Marco ran his hands through Erik's hair as he pecked kisses all over his face, before he reached his mouth and kissed him on the lips.

They were safe, both of them, and Marco's embrace had never felt this good.


	39. The day after

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for still reading this story and leaving feedback, it means a lot! :-)   
> Also a huge thank you goes to Blue_Night for once again doing the beta, thank you dear!   
> Sorry that this chapter is here so late, my time has been limited and this chapter is posted from my phone so sorry if something is off or there are some technical problems.

Marco woke up to the feeling of two arms around him.

He carefully opened his eyes, a little disoriented at first about where he was. He sighed in relief as he realized that Erik's arms were the ones holding him, and that they were safe and sound in his old nursery.

After finally getting Erik back up from the ditch, they had just embraced each other for a very long time, holding on to each other's bodies as if it had been the first time after months of separation. And it had nearly felt like months of separation, even though it had only been for some hours, but the quandary of not knowing what was going to happen had felt excruciating. Finally having been able to feel Erik in his arms had been one of the most emotional moments in Marco's life, and he had realized just how much Erik meant to him.

They had also kissed before Marco's rational sense had kicked in and he had checked on Erik's ankle, gratefully noticing that as far as he knew, it was only slightly sprained. He had put his arms around Erik and supported his walking as they had made their way towards the motorbike and Erik's cellphone. By that time, it had already been early in the morning and they had called Erik's father and explained the situation, asking him to come and pick them up since Erik couldn't drive with his ankle anymore.

Marco and Erik had patiently waited for Erik's parents to arrive before they had climbed into the SUV Erik's father had driven. Erik's father had gotten off the car, going to the motorcycle himself to drive it back, while Erik's mother drove the car back home with Marco and Erik nearly falling asleep on the backseat.  
Once they had gotten back to Erik's parents' house, they had taken a quick shower and Erik had taken care of his ankle, before they had gotten into the bed to sleep at least a few hours.

Now Marco was awake again, lying next to Erik who was starting to flutter his eyelids open, as well. Marco was so relieved that he was really in Erik's old home right now, for a moment he had thought that he had simply been dreaming about what had happened. Last night had been scary, without a doubt, and Marco was just glad that it was over now, although he had to admit that what they had gone through had also brought them closer.

"Good morning... Although I should probably say afternoon," said Erik and glanced at the clock on the nightstand. It was almost noon, in fact.

"Well it's a new day for us, starting right now, so good morning," Marco said, giving Erik a chaste kiss as he moved a little closer to him.

"It is," Erik mumbled as he rubbed his eyes. "To be honest I'm so glad that we got over yesterday."

"Me too," Marco said, trying to shake off the unpleasant thoughts of the hours when Erik hadn't been by his side. "How is your ankle?"

"It's alright, it doesn't hurt that much but I guess that I'll still have to get it checked once we get back to Dortmund," Erik said, shaking his head. "Kloppo won't like this, we aren't supposed to do anything considered as dangerous while we're having a few days off."

"We weren't doing anything dangerous, it was only an accident. I'm sure he'll understand, I hope that you won't have to stay aside for a long time."

"Me too. It will probably only be a week tops, though. As long as I get to the treatment as soon as possible," Erik said.

"You're right. We should go home today, am I right?"

"Yeah we should. The only problem is, I don't know how. I can't drive with my ankle, you can't drive, and I'd hate to ask my parents for help. We were supposed to spend time with them, and what we were left with was only one evening," Erik groaned, frustrated. "If only this accident hadn't happened-"

"Don't curse it, Erik. It happened and these things unfortunately are something we can't decide. We spent one evening with your parents and I got to know them better, surely we'll be able to spend some time with them in the future. Right now, the top priority is your ankle," Marco said.

"You're right. Still, I don't know how we are going to get back to Dortmund."

"I could ask Marcel... He owes me a thing or two, let's put it that way, and I'm sure he wouldn't mind. He's quite enthusiastic about driving, especially if I let him drive my Porsche," Marco laughed.

"It's a long way though... Are you sure that he wouldn't mind?"

"Yes I am. I'll give him a call, you'll see that he'll take it well," Marco said, wasting no more time as he took his phone and called Marcel.

 

\---

 

Marco had been right, Marcel had been more than all right with driving to Pirmasens, picking them up and then driving them back to Dortmund. It was a long way, but Marcel and Marco had been best friends for such a long time that they would do a lot for each other.

Erik's parents had of course been disappointed when they had heard that Erik and Marco had had to leave, but they had also understood the situation. Because of Erik's profession it was vital to try to get his ankle back to being good again as soon as possible. Erik had called the team doctors and told them what he knew about his ankle and that he suspected that it was a minor sprain, but nothing too serious, there wasn't even a lot of swelling anymore.

Marco had helped Erik to pack their things and just before eight o'clock, Marcel had already been in Pirmasens, waiting for Marco and Erik to get in the car, so that they would be back home in Dortmund before midnight.

They had been lucky with the traffic and they had made it to Dortmund late in the night. After thanking Marcel and getting their things back inside Marco's apartment, they had fallen into bed again, still exhausted because of their adventures and misfortune.

In the morning Erik had gone to the training center to get checked by the physiotherapists and doctors, who had confirmed that the ankle was only slightly sprained, and luckily Erik would only have to work by himself doing some special exercises made for him for a few training sessions, and he would maybe miss only one match. Erik and Marco had explained the situation to the trainer together, who had luckily been understanding, but also warned them that they should be more carefully next time.

When Erik had gone to the gym to do his exercises, Marco had been left to explain their teammates what had happened. Their teammates had had a hard time believing Marco's story, and Marco could understand why, after all something like that didn't happen every day. Marco had told them the truth many times, as best as he had been able to with his concentration, because truth to be told his mind was spinning and somewhere completely else.

Ever since they had come back to Dortmund, and even in Pirmasens, Erik had seemed a little downhearted, probably because he was still blaming himself for what had happened.  
Marco could understand Erik, but no matter how much Marco tried to console him, it didn't seem to work, so Marco had taken it as his aim to do something to make Erik feel better.

Marco certainly had some plans to realize. He would surprise Erik, like Erik had planned to surprise him, except that this time, Marco would make sure that their plans would surely work. He knew it it could be perfect, and that Erik would surely like it. All Marco needed to do, was to run some errands, organize a few things, be brave and have a little luck.


	40. From sulking to smiling

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for the feedback you've still left me, every kudo and comment means a lot! :-))   
> I big thank you goes to Blue_Night for doing the beta again, thank you!   
> There are still a few chapters left of this story as I've planned it, I hope that you'll still like it! :-)

Erik sighed deeply as he sat on his couch, sadly, alone.

It had unfortunately been so that he really had to miss one game because of his ankle. It was only a precautionary procedure, and since Dortmund would play against a fairly easy opponent, the coach had made the decision that Erik could rest this game to avoid hurting his ankle even more and possibly getting a more serious injury. Erik had tried to convince him that he could play, because he really didn't want to miss the game and stay at home while the rest of the team apart from a few exceptions would travel down to the south of Germany to play an away match.

Erik's spirits hadn't been so good ever since the unfortunate happenings in the Pfälzer Wald. He had been sure that he had let Marco down, no matter how much his thoughtful boyfriend had tried to assure him that their short trip had been perfect. Erik's mind refused to believe that, and he couldn't help but feel miserably about how it felt like everything was his fault; the injury, Marco's sore throat after having spent the night in the cold and his trainer's disappointment even though he had been discreet enough not to let it show. Erik felt like it was all his fault, and with the ankle he had, he couldn't do anything to make it better.

Now Marco was traveling with the team, and Erik couldn't even be with him. Erik was sure that he was having fun with Auba and probably complaining to him about Erik's actions. Erik knew that he shouldn't think this way, but he couldn't help himself. Marco had called him a few hours ago, and told him to try not to worry. Erik had tried to do that, and in order to avoid over thinking, he had called Matze to come over to watch the game with him, since he happened to be injured just like Erik except that he and damaged his ankle during training by accident. Erik was impatiently switching the channels as he thought about how he could make up for his mistakes, as he heard the doorbell ring.

He walked over to the door and opened it, seeing a smiling Matze with bags of Chinese food in his hands. "Hey!"

"Hi, Matze," Erik said, half smiling as he welcomed his friend.

"So, how is my sulking friend doing?" Matze asked as he walked to the living room with Erik.

"How did you know that I was sulking?" Erik asked, confused. He hadn't showed his emotions around their teammates, only being himself around Marco, who hadn't missed his change of mood.

"Actually, it's not that hard to read your face, plus, Marco and I have had a conversation."

"You talked with Marco?" Erik groaned. The last thing he needed was Marco worrying about him this much.

"Yes. He only expressed his worry, and I promised to do my very best to make you feel better about all of this. He told me more about what had happened."

"I'm sorry but I doubt that you'll get me to feel better. It was all my fault that our plans got ruined. We were supposed to have some romantic time together, but, we only ended up spending two days with my parents, and one night outdoors," Erik snorted.

"I'm sure that that wasn't all what happened, Erik. You spent some time together, regardless of where it was."

"Yes we did, but the time we spent there must have only made Marco question why he is even with me."

"Did he ever tell you that? Did he ever say that he was mad at you for what happened?" Matze asked, starting to sound a little aggressive.

"No, he didn't, but I have a feeling that he is thinking that way even though he doesn't admit it," Erik said. "I'm sorry, I know I'm being difficult."

"Don't be sorry, Erik. I just wish that you'd understand me." Matze shifted closer to Erik as he became more serious and looked into his eyes. "Have you even considered that Marco really isn't mad or questioning his love for you? Have you thought that maybe he loves you even more now after seeing how you handled the situation, and knows about everything that you had planned for them?"

"No, not really..." Erik admitted.

"Okay, then listen. For what I've seen, during the last couple of days you've been even closer than before. Have you noticed how much more time Marco's spends around you, how much Marco is kind of 'protecting' you? He's very attached to you, and that's because he's worried about you. And I believe that he does that because he loves you, even more than before."

Erik though about Matze's words, considering the chance that what he said could be true. Was Erik really overthinking? Was he too self-critical about what had happened?

"You might have a point there," Erik admitted.

"I do, trust me. Sven even texted me that Marco has looked completely lost on the way to the away match, because he didn't know where to sit. He always sits with you," Matze said and Erik raised his eyebrows.

"Really?"

"Yes, really. And I have a feeling that he also knows that you aren't believing him when he's telling you how much he loves you," Matze said and Erik nodded.

"I know... I should make this up to him," Erik said, again starting to think about what he could do.

"Don't worry about that, just be there for him an be the happy Erik he knows. And by the way, I guess that he is already planning something 'romantic' with you I don't really want to know more about," Matze chuckled and at the next moment, Erik's phone beeped.

-"Wish me luck babe. Hope you're watching the game 'cause I might have a surprise for you ;)"-

Erik read Marco's message a few times, stunned, he hadn't expected to get any message from Marco. What surprise was his boyfriend talking about?

"I guess you'll find out," Matze said. Erik noticed that he had thought out loud and blushed. "Anyways, turn on the TV the match will start any minute and I want to see it, you could try focusing on it, too, instead of your worries."

Erik listened to Matze's orders and turned on the television before he went to the kitchen to get them some drinks, and they started to watch the game. Erik did try to concentrate on the game, yet he couldn't help but flinch every time Marco touched the ball and someone tried to take it away from him, making Matze laugh. Matze tried to calm him down during half time, somewhat succeeding as Erik gradually relaxed, being able to enjoy the game.

The game ended in a Dortmund victory and everybody was happy, including Erik as he saw Marco smiling after the final whistle. Erik cheered with Matze before he went to take the food containers to the trash, returning in time for the post-match interviews. Erik smiled as he saw Roman being interviewed, Marco waiting behind him for his turn. As Roman ended his interview, Marco stepped in front of the camera, and the journalist started asking him questions.

Erik listened attentively, Marco answering very professionally to all of the questions. The interview was short and about to come to an end, before the journalist asked Marco on more question: "And the cold weather here, did it affect your performance or your playing style?"

Marco smiled and looked into the camera, before he answered: "The weather doesn't affect our style of play. We would play the same way against this team even if it were +25 °C or -5 °C. And what comes to my own performance, I'll perform just as well in cold weather, as long as I have the right clothing to keep my body warm," Marco said, and then raised his shirt, wiping his mouth with it. Underneath his jersey, Marco had another warmer shirt, keeping him warm, with the number '37' printed on the corner of it.

A huge smile spread on Erik's face, so this was his surprise. Marco must have noticed how much Erik loved it when Marco was wearing something with his name or number on the garment. One Sunday when they had been home just the two of them, Erik had woken up to the sight of Marco laying next to him wearing his jersey and nothing else. The situation had led to amazing sex and Erik had had to explain Marco just how much he loved him wearing his jersey, and Marco had obviously learned from the situation.

Erik blushed and took out his smart phone, furiously starting to type to it to let Marco know what was waiting for him when he came home. "I guess there was some hidden meaning behind that," Matze chuckled and Erik just winked at him.

From: Erik  
To: Marco  
You pretty little tease ;) you know how much I love that, don't you?" - Erik typed to his phone and sent the message to Marco.

From: Marco  
To: Erik  
Of course I know. I just wanted to please you ;)," Marco's response was quick.

From: Erik  
To: Marco  
"Oh you did please me. I'll make sure to show you just how much ;)" Erik typed, shifting his weight as his body was already thinking about what he would be doing for Marco, as soon as he'd get home.

From: Marco  
To: Erik  
"Can't wait to get home then ;)"

From: Erik  
To: Marco  
"Thank you for that surprise, it was wonderful <3 made me feel a lot better."

From: Marco  
To: Erik  
"You're welcome. And it's not the only surprise coming your way soon, :*, believe me <3."

Erik read Marco's message and a smile lit up his face. Whatever his boyfriend was planning, Erik was sure that he'd enjoy it as much as Marco would enjoy tonight.


	41. Preparations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for the feedback you've given me, it always means a lot! :)   
> Another huge thank you again goes to Blue_Night for doing the beta reading for me, thank you so much!   
> This chapter will tell more about Marco's plans, I hope that you'll like it!

Marco sighed happily as he closed the door of his home, where his wonderful boyfriend was already waiting for him.

Marco couldn't have been happier after receiving Erik's message, he was so happy that he had made him happy and got his spirits up, at least a little bit. Marco was sure that the next few days would bring Erik's spirits up even more when they would go on with his plans - the plans that Erik didn't yet know anything about.

He had been able to proceed with his plans while Erik had had to stay at home, and everything was almost ready, he only lacked one thing that he was determined to get tomorrow before Erik would finally have his surprise the day after tomorrow. Marco had already asked Marcel to drive them, he would blindfold Erik's eyes so that he wouldn't know where they were going to. Marco had also asked his sister to help him with some of the preparations, so that everything would surely be perfect. Erik was in a better mood, he had no clue what was up and Marco was sure that the was going to love it.

His plans were quite risky, he had to admit, but, he was positive that Erik would love them. At least Marco loved the thought, and all the preparations he had had to do for Erik's surprise had made him even surer of the decisions he had had to make.

Marco stepped into the hall, kicking off his shoes, quickly, before he walked around the corner, only to feel someone's hand on his mouth, and he gasped.  
"Finally you came home!" Marco heard Erik say, ardently, making him relax and recover from his initial shock. "I was waiting for you for forever!" Erik said, pressing his entire body against Marco's back, still not letting him speak by keeping his hand on his mouth.

Marco wasn't showing any signs of objection, in fact, he found the situation very hot. Erik was breathing against his hear, almost sensually sighing against it as he was pushing his body against Marco's lean back, not hiding his arousal. Marco moaned softly, he had assumed that Erik would be happy and kiss him when he'd get home but he hadn't expected this, Erik seducing him two seconds after he had gotten into the apartment.

"Mhm, I'm finally home," Marco said when Erik took his hand off his mouth. He was trying to free himself from Erik's extract but his boyfriend didn't let him.

"Oh no Marco, you're not going anywhere," Erik said as he pushed them forward into the living room, where he finally turned Marco around and looked in his eyes. "I want to thank you for what you did there."

"You already did, didn't you? Not that I'd mind you thanking me again," Marco murmured, embarrassed.

"I want to thank you, thoroughly - if you let me," Erik said, bending down a little bit as he started to nibble at Marco's ear, making Marco moan in delight.

"Isn't it obvious that I'll let you?" Marco asked back and pointed at the visible bulge in his pants. "The hours without you were very long."

"I agree," Erik said and put his hand on Marco's hard cock without further warning, making Marco gasp in the process. "I missed you."

Erik's words had set Marco's body on fire and he was nearly bucking up his hips against Erik's hand that sadly wasn't moving. Erik simply kept his hand at its place, letting the air fill with anticipation. Erik's lips were moving though, he was kissing Marco's neck, leaving a few love bites in the process as he caressed Marco's neck and also his mouth with his tongue.

Marco wasn't sure if it was really Erik's intention to drive him crazy right there, in the middle of their living room, but if it was, he was doing one hell of a good job. Marco's entire body ached with desire, but most of all his cock did, trapped in his way too tight jeans. "Erik, please!" Marco pleaded, letting his head fall on Erik's shoulder.

"What do you want, Marco?"

"You're really going to make me say it?!" Marco asked, incredulously. Since when had Erik become such a tease?

"Babe, I'll do anything for you, I just want you to tell me what you want... I want it to be perfect for you..." Erik purred in his 'bedroom voice' making Marco's cock twitch yet another time.

"Oh fuck, Erik... Please, uh, I want you to... to do something!" Marco said, taking matters into his own hands and opening his pants. His desire was turning almost painful by now.

"Would you like a blowjob?"

"Yes, please!" Marco said before he could even register the words, his mind running on his own, the image of Erik's perfect lips around his cock sending another hot wave through his body.

"As you wish, my love," Erik said and pushed Marco onto the couch, leaving him lying there with his pants open. Erik got rid of his shirt, most likely because he knew how much Marco liked to see his broad shoulders while he was blowing him.

Marco groaned out loud as Erik put his knees around his legs and bent down, sliding his pants down with his briefs, finally letting Marco's manhood spring free from its uncomfortable prison. "You're so hot, love," Erik said, taking the base of Marco's cock in his hand and starting to stroke it with determined movements. Pre-come was already leaking out of the tip, Marco's desire gaining the upper hand of him.

He hadn't been able to stop thinking about Erik, especially after their text messages, and his thoughts had gotten pretty explicit. He had dreamed of this moment, and now with Erik's tempting lips only inches away from his manhood he could hardly think straight anymore.

"Oh fuck," Marco cursed, fearing that he wouldn't even make it to the blowing part, already feeling the tale signs of his orgasm in his groin.

Erik probably saw Marco's worries because he stopped stroking, and suddenly took almost all of Marco's cock in his mouth. The warmth enclosing Marco's manhood was almost too much to bear and Marco screamed, his hands flying to Erik's hair. God, his boyfriend was so good at this, Marco knew that he would never get enough of Erik's mouth around his cock, pleasuring him in an incredible way.  
Erik started to move his head up and down Marco's length, licking it with his clever tongue, boosting his boyfriend's ecstasy in an outstanding way.

Marco kept groaning loudly as he struggled to keep his hips still, and Erik continued his licking and sucking. It was going to be over so fast, Marco knew it, but he couldn't really bring himself to care. The pleasure Erik was giving him was overwhelming. Erik took a moment to breathe before he dived in again, this time sucking Marco's cock, and right then Marco knew that he had lost the battle.

"I'm gonna come!" he moaned, his hips trembling as he reached his peak. He shot his load down Erik's throat as throws of pleasure made his entire body shiver.  
He lay there, catching his breath as he watched Erik crawling closer to him, kissing his cheek gently. "Did you like my surprise?"

"Oh yes I did, thank you, Erik, it was perfect!" Marco said, taking Erik's face in his hands, kissing him deeply. He only wished that he would be able to make Erik this happy in a few days of time.

 

\---

 

"There's a spot!" Marco shouted, pointing his finger at the free parking spot.  
Marco had asked Marcel to drive him downtown and go shopping with him to a jewelry store that was owned by his father's brother. Marcel had been happy to come with Marco, especially after Marco had explained him why he wanted to go to the jewelry store in the first place.

Marco knew that he was showing Erik his love every day, but he wanted to give him something to remind him of it. He wanted to give Erik something that would keep reminding him of the love Marco felt for him, even when they were apart, which was inevitable at times. Marco hoped that Erik would like the idea he had in mind, at least a little bit. Marco knew so much that Erik could never get enough of him confessing his love to him, and he hoped that this something he was going to give Erik would remind him of the love he felt for him every day.

As long as he would find something, of course.

"Do you want me to come with you?" Marcel asked as he parked the car with Marco.

"Yeah, I want you to be there to make sure that I won't buy something completely stupid," Marco said. Marcel nodded and both of them left the car, walking into the small jewelry store. Marco had chosen this particular store exactly because it was owned by his uncle, he couldn't have gone to a regular store because of the fans that could very well surround him. Not to mention that if anyone saw what he would buy could cause a hurricane of rumors and gossip around him.

Marco had wanted to buy something that would prove his love, and be something that could show Erik that he was Marco's, and no one else's. Not an engagement ring, however. If Marco was ever to propose Erik, he wanted to do it thoroughly, he wanted everything to be perfect then. All right, who was Marco kidding, he was thinking about it already, but he felt that it wasn't the time for this, not yet. Maybe, this was some sort of pre-engagement in Marco's mind, however. He wanted Erik to be all his, but since a proposal seemed too soon for Marco, a pre-engagement, a promise to one day say yes to the other one's proposal, seemed perfect.

He got into the store with Marcel, whom he had told his plans earlier this morning when he had asked him to drive him to the store. His friend had congratulated him and supported his decision, telling him that it would be a good time for Marco to finally take the next step in their relationship. Marcel followed hard on him as they stepped into the store, and Anton, the owner of the store, the brother of Marco's father, looked up.

"Marco, how nice to see you!"

"Nice to see you, too, Anton," Marco said, going to the counter and shaking his uncle's hand. Marcel shook his hand too and then, moved to stand next to Marco, looking at the shining pieces of jewelry.

"How have you been doing?" Anton asked, casually leaning against the counter.

"Very well," Marco answered and smiled. "And you?"

"I'm good, too, thanks for asking. How can I help you? Are you looking for something special here?"

"Well, uh, I was kind of looking for a pre-engagement ring. A necklace to attach it to, maybe, as well." Marco blushed as he spoke, now would come the problem. He would somehow subtly have to say that he was going to buy the ring for a man.

"Oh, how lovely! How come you didn't yet tell that there's a special someone in your life?"

"Actually, none of my family knows that I wanted to buy this present for him, so I'd appreciate it if you kept this to yourself. I'll tell my family if he says yes, and it becomes a serious matter," Marco said, looking in Anton's eyes that grew large as he mentioned 'him' and 'he'. Marco bit his lips, insecurely, but deep down, he knew that Anton would react well. As a child, Marco had played with Anton's kids, who had probably had an idea about Marco not being interested in girls, and possibly, they had already told their father. Plus, Marco knew that Anton was an open-minded person, one of his daughters was bisexual and Marco knew that he would keep the secret to himself.

"Don't worry, I'll definitely keep it to myself, you know that you can trust me with things like this," Anton said and patted Marco's shoulder gently, making Marco smile in relief. "But, a pre-engagement ring, you said?"

"Yes, and maybe a chain where it could be attached to while not being kept on the finger."

"That is a good idea, I have some choices to show you then," Anton said. "The chain isn't a problem, there are so many different models, so we'll just take the one that matches the ring the best. Do you want a golden ring, or silver or platinum, perhaps?"

"I was thinking about a golden one," Marco said. Anton nodded and dived behind the counter, getting up with two small showcases in his hands, rings displayed in them.

"I suppose that the price won't be an issue?"

"No, it won't," Marco said, already eagerly looking at the beautiful rings. Marcel looked at them, too, next to him. Marco bit his lips as Anton opened the cases with his key, and took out some of the rings.

"There are some with nothing on them, but the others have small diamonds. Would you prefer it with or without diamonds?"

"I, uh, I guess without diamonds?" Marco said, looking at Marcel who nodded to him in an encouraging way. "I'm sure Erik will like anything you decided to get him, Marco. You will be able to buy him an even better ring for the real engagement."  
Marco nodded silently, as he looked at the rings in front of him. There were a few the color of something in between gold and silver, that really didn't look good to Marco's eyes, but there were a few that were made of pure gold, that did look really beautiful and surely something that Erik would find nice-looking. "Those look nice," Marco murmured pointing his fingers at the two rings, one of them which had one diamond, and one of them which hadn't.

"These are both very nice models, I have to say. Pre-engagements rings sometimes are something more petite than a really big ring with a big diamond. Either of these could work very well," Anton said and Marco nodded.

"Maybe the one without the diamond is better for now..." Marco mused. "It isn't that superior, and after all, it's a pre-engagement. Could you carve something into the ring?"

"Of course, anything," Anton said as Marco took the ring in his hand and slipped it on his finger. He hoped that Erik would like the idea of the ring as much as he liked it.

 

\---

 

Later that evening when Marco was lying in the bed with Erik curled around his side, he was thinking about the past day.

His plans were pretty crazy, come to think of them. But, he was willing to do it all for Erik. The love of his life, who was now snoring quietly against his side. Erik looked so beautiful just like he always was, his face almost angel-like as he stayed still, only the small movements of his mouth visible as air ran in and out.

Marco's love for Erik almost overwhelmed him again and he had to bite his lip to keep his hand from moving on Erik's cheek to caress it, because he didn't want to wake him up. He loved Erik so much, he had always loved Erik, but somehow, his feelings had gotten even stronger during the last few weeks when he had seen Erik's family, spent the night with him out there in the cold, and now seeing how Erik was gradually getting on a better mood.

Marco had already realized how much Erik meant for him back then when he had ended up on the cover of BILD and when they had decided to come out to their teammates, but still, now he really had realized that he didn't want to live his life without Erik in it. He wanted Erik to be there for him, he wanted them to come over all the hardships life would throw at them, he wanted to face everything with Erik by his side. The rest of his career, the important competitions, the defeats and the triumphs. The rest of his life, getting older and before that experiencing all the beautiful things life had to offer.

Their relationships was still rather young, but Marco thought that it was ready for the next few small steps.


	42. Surprise after surprise

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the kudos and comments you've left under this work, it means so much to hear what you think!   
> Dear Blue_Night, thank you once again for doing the beta reading!   
> I hope that you'll enjoy reading this chapter! :-)

"No, I want you to keep your eyes closed and you won't do that unless I put this blindfold on them!" Marco said and put a soft blindfold on Erik's eyes. He tied it around the back of his head, careful not to put it on too tightly.

"Marco, come on! Why are you so secretive? You never told me that your surprise would include something like this!" Erik accused him but, Marco knew very well that his boyfriend was as excited as he was and didn't really mind him doing this to him.

A few hours ago, Marco had told Erik to get dressed up for his surprise. Erik had been slightly shocked that he'd have his surprise today, and told Marco that it really wasn't necessary to surprise him, but Marco had only shushed him and told him to put on his suit. They had gotten dressed up together, Marco helping Erik with choosing the proper clothes for what was ahead of them. Even though Erik had tried to stay calm, Marco could see that he was buzzing in excitement and that was what Marco had longed to see on Erik's face ever since the unfortunate happenings in Pirmasens.

They had gotten dressed and ready, before Marco had put the bondage on Erik's eyes to cover his vision, and guided him towards the living room.  
"Why are we going to the hall?" Erik asked now, holding onto Marco's hand as he guided him through the narrow aisle.

"Did you think that we got dressed up this nicely all for nothing and that we'd stay at home? Oh no, we're going out for dinner!" Marco said, revealing the first detail of his plan.

"A dinner? Why couldn't I see that?" Erik asked.

"Because there's a surprise there and after that. Don't be so impatient, you'll get to see soon," Marco said, slapping Erik's butt, effectively making him silent.

Marco got out of the door, still guiding Erik towards Marcel who was holding the car door open for him. "Watch it, we're going to get into a car."

Erik did as he was told and guided by Marco, he got into the car, sitting on the backseat. Marco sat next to him, signaling Marcel that they could get going. Marcel and he had agreed that Marcel wouldn't speak a word, he'd only drive them, so that Erik wouldn't get the slightest hint of what was happening.

They drove downtown and then further away from the city for several kilometers, and Marco could see that Erik was getting anxious, his heartbeat pacing up and his palms getting sweaty. "We're almost there, babe," Marco whispered, gently brushing his thumb over his palm. Erik relaxed and smiled, his smile turning into a grin as they got out of the car, Marcel dropping them off at their destination.

Marco smiled as he eyed the restaurant, everything seemed to be perfect. He started to guide Erik's towards his first surprise of tonight, a dinner just for the two of them. He opened the restaurant door and waved at the waitress who was there only for them tonight, along with the two chefs who probably already were working in the kitchen.

"Where are we?" Erik asked, finally losing his patience as Marco sat him on one of the chairs, in front of the candle shining in the otherwise rather dim room.

"You'll see now," Marco said, taking the blindfold off Erik's eyes, and showed him where they were.

Erik blinked a couple of times, not being able to detect his surroundings. His eyes scanned the room and his eyes grew large as he realized where they were. "You remembered!" He said excitedly, absolutely beaming at Marco.

"Of course I remembered. I could never forget," Marco said, thinking back to their first date when Erik had told him the name of his favorite restaurant. Marco had kept it in his mind, but somehow he had still failed to bring Erik there until today. "I know that you love it here, and I want this evening to be perfect."

"Why are you spoiling me like this?" Erik asked, still looking incredibly happy.

"I don't think I need a reason to spoil you, Erik. But well, I thought that since we've had a bit of a rough time lately with you not being to play and everything, I thought that this would be a nice surprise."

"Well, thank you Marco, because this surprise is truly perfect!" Erik said, not looking around anymore, simply staring deep into Marco's eyes.

"This isn't the only surprise tonight, Erik." Marco cleared his throat, suddenly being very nervous about his rather big plans for tonight.

"Really?"

"Yes, really. But you'll have to wait for them for a little while. Now we're going to eat and have a good time, just the two of us," Marco said.

"But we don't even have the menus? Plus where are all the other people?" Erik asked, now looking around again.

"There aren't any other people here tonight, I reserved the place just for the two of us. And, I already ordered us something so they should bring us some food," Marco said, happy that Erik was apparently still surprised.

"How did you know what I want to eat?" Erik asked, and Marco smiled, a little smugly, even.

"Well, when I called here to reserve this place just for the two of us, I asked the people did you come here often, and they said that you did. They also told me that you always order the same dish from the same menu, so I figured that that's what you'd eat tonight, as well. I took the liberty to choose the entree and the dessert, but the main course will be what you like the most, risotto."

Erik seemed to be left speechless by Marco's thoughtfulness so he just gaped at him, and at the same time, the waitress brought them glasses of champagne.  
"To us!" Marco cheered, and raised his glass in the air.

"To us!" Erik said, smiling in a way that made Marco's heart flip. "Thank you Marco, this is really perfect!"

"You're perfect," was all Marco said, before smiling, as well. This would be the best night of his life.

 

\---

 

"Time for the second surprise, I'm sorry but I'll have to blindfold you again," Marco said, and Erik only smiled at him, cheekily, as he let his eyes be covered.  
The dinner they had had, had gone absolutely perfectly.

Erik couldn't have imagined such a surprise from Marco, even though he knew that he was a romantic guy. He hadn't imagined Marco to remember something he had mentioned only once, a long long time ago on their first date. He hadn't imagined Marco to blindfold him and make this evening a complete surprise to him, but he had, and Erik had enjoyed every minute of it.

Of course, he had been anxious when Marco had blindfolded him and told him nothing about where they had been going, but Erik trusted him with his dear life and had known that something exciting would happen wherever they were going. Erik had tried to keep track of where they were going with his imagination, but he had gotten lost with his thoughts somewhere, as Marco had started to caress his hand with his own.

They had eventually arrived at the restaurant Erik loved the most in the entire world. It wasn't a big restaurant, only a small restaurant in one of the rural areas of Dortmund. Erik had once been taken there by Matze for lunch, and immediately, he had fallen in love with the place, going there by himself as oftentimes as he had been able to. He had mentioned about his love for this small restaurant to Marco only once, and yet there they were now, Marco surprising him with taking him there, and not the other way around. Erik had always imagined that he would be the one to take Marco there, but he wasn't complaining, at all. This surprise Marco had organized was perfect.

Their dinner had gone well, eating delicious food while talking about almost everything. It was almost like their first date, except that this time, neither of them were nervous and they simply enjoyed each other's company and love, barely letting their hands part and their eyes stop looking into each other's.

Erik had gotten even more thrilled when Marco had told him that there would be even more surprises, he had a hard time imagining what could be more perfect than this, but after all Marco had outdone himself already, and Erik wouldn't be surprise if he did it again.

He was now letting himself be guided by Marco towards the car again. He didn't know who was driving the car, but it didn't really matter. The only thing that mattered was that Marco never left his side, he was always there with him, holding onto some part of his body, occasionally telling him that they were getting closer to their destination as the driver drove smoothly.

Erik knew that they were probably getting closer to Dortmund again because the traffic was slowing down, and they had to stop to a few traffic lights. The driver started slowing down, and Marco only once told him to turn right, and then the car stopped again. Erik could feel his heartbeat pacing up and his anticipation rising, he couldn't wait whatever was coming his way.

Marco guided him out of the car again, and this time, Erik could also feel that Marco's palms were sweaty and his breathing a little ragged. Was he nervous, too? Erik tried to stay calm as he took careful steps, Marco helping him up a few stairs before they stood in front of a door. Marco let go of Erik to get the keys and opened the door, stepping inside before pulling Erik with him, and closed the door. "Just a few more steps," Marco said, and Erik nodded, walking next to him for about a dozen steps, before Marco sighed.

Erik could hardly keep his excitement at bay as Marco took the blindfold off his eyes. He quickly blinked his eyes, trying to get his blurry vision back to normal as he looked around, seeing a completely unfamiliar room. He was standing in an unknown living room, where there was hardly any furniture. There was only one couch in front of a fire place, in the otherwise very empty space.

Erik looked around, noticing nothing but emptiness all around him. He had never been to this house before, he had never seen it and he didn't know why Marco had brought him to here. He turned around to look at Marco, who was smiling shyly. Erik looked at him with his eyebrows raised, and luckily Marco got the hint that he was clueless and cleared his throat.

"Welcome home, Erik."


	43. Home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for your kudos and comments under this story, they mean the world and I'm happy to hear that some of you are still reading this story :-)   
> Thank you for Blue_Night for once again doing the beta reading for me, thank you so much!

Erik stood in front of Marco, completely speechless.

"Home?" He asked, his voice breaking as the realization of what Marco must have done sank into his brain.

He had bought them a home, hadn't he?

Marco looked at him, still smiling shyly as he took Erik's hand in his and cleared his throat. "You might have an idea by now..."

"Why did you bring me here?" Erik stammered, still not able to form a coherent thought.

"Well, I thought I'd bring you home, as long as you'll accept this as your home."

"What do you mean with our home?" Erik asked, his eyes wandering around the space while he squeezed Marco's hand. Was this all a dream?

"All right, listen," Marco began as he turned so that he was directly facing Erik, staring deep into his eyes. "After our trip to Pirmasens and even before that, I've come to realize quite a few things. That drunken night of mine, meeting your parents, coming out to our teammates, it has all made me think a lot of things, but most of all it made me think of what we have. I absolutely love you, and I want to spend even more time with you. I know that so far we've shared my place and you don't stay at your place anymore, and I know that your memories from there aren't the greatest. Our living together has worked out well, and staying at my place is completely fine, but, I thought that we could kind of start a new. This place could be our new home. Something that we'd decorate together, where we would place all the things the way we want to place them together, we could make this our home. It would be a better option than you living in my home, because this would be ours together. That's why there isn't any furniture, I want this to be made by us together. Of course I kind of only 'reserved' this place for us, and you didn't get a say whether or not you like it until now. I hope that you like this place as much as I do, because I love this. We're quite near the river bank, and surrounded by forest, and I thought that you'd like it because the area of where your home is looks quite similar to this, even though of course the forests here aren't quite as magnificent as the ones in the Pfälzer Wald are, but they're a little like them, anyway." Marco ended his long speech and smiled, even though Erik was aware that his mouth was hanging wide open, his brain not keeping on with the flood of information.

"O-our home?" He asked again.

"Yes, I hope that you do want to live here with me. But in case you don't, I didn't yet agree to buy this, I only bought us a couple of days of time. As you may see, this house is pretty old, but it was just renewed. The current owner didn't like the end result and now wants to sell this place. The price is high enough so that there aren't many buyers on the market. So as I said, I 'reserved' this place, so in case you like this, we only have to sign the papers, and then this could be our home."

Erik listened to Marco's words in awe, not being able to believe that this was really happening to him, as he saw Marco digging his pockets. He reached for something and smiled as he found it, then giving it to Erik. A small key. "What do you think?"  
Erik could do nothing but gape at Marco, who had just surprised him in a way Erik had been sure that no one would, less than a year and a half ago. Now, his thoughtful boyfriend had almost bought a house, a house for just the two of them. Their first true home, a place where they'd live together right from the start.

Erik glanced around him once again, indeed noticing forests all around them from the windows he saw, seeing that the place really was old, something akin to an old mansion.

Erik didn't really even care where they were, he understood that they weren't far from downtown, but the place was secluded enough not to have neighbors right at sight. Erik absolutely loved everything he saw, the place was beautiful. Buying a home wasn't something that they had talked about with Marco, and he had no clue how Marco had managed to guess so well what he liked, but this was spot on. Marco's idea was so romantic, the whole situation was so romantic and Erik could feel his heart filling with love.

"I love it," Erik simply stated, putting his arms around Marco and simply hugging him.

"Really?"

"Yes, really. It's so beautiful here, not to mention how romantic this idea is. You totally blew me away, and I agree with you, this could be our first proper home. I can imagine us living here." Erik smiled the most beautiful smile he could manage, and saw a blush creeping up on Marco's face.

"I'm so happy that you think that way. Then, right tomorrow we can sign the papers and start to move here," Marco said, his gaze sincere and all Erik could do was peck his lips and murmur a nearly silent 'I love you' to his ear.

They simply stayed in their hug like that before Erik started moving his hands up and down Marco's back, God his man was so perfect, he didn't know what he had done to deserve such a blessing like Marco. He moved his hands up and down, feeling how Marco's body was responding to his touches, and he smiled to himself as he moved his hands on Marco's butt, making his boyfriend's breath hitch.

"Umm, actually, there is one thing I didn't yet tell you about this house," Marco murmured against Erik's neck, sending tickles down Erik's spine.

"What is it?"

"Well, I said that there aren't any furniture, but, actually there is a bed upstairs..." Marco said and that was all Erik needed to hear, he simply kissed Marco, with all the passion he had.

 

\---

 

Marco felt Erik's lips on his, totally blown away by the sudden throw of passion his boyfriend had.

Marco was smiling in his mind, his plan had worked so well, Erik had loved his surprise to him, Erik had loved everything he had planned, he had even agreed on buying the house and moving there with Marco, and that, practically made Marco's life as perfect as it could get at this moment.

He was going to live in this beautiful house with his boyfriend, he was going to live there, living the life of his dreams, sharing his life with the beautiful man that was currently kissing him. He couldn't believe his luck, what had he done to deserve to get such a wonderful reaction from Erik?

Erik's reactions had told Marco just how much he loved Marco's idea, the smile on his face had been the brightest Marco had ever seen, the light in his eyes had shined in a way that they had demanded Marco's full attention, until the moment Marco had subtly mentioned that there was a bed upstairs, and the lower parts of his body had started to demand immediate attention.

Marco moaned gently as Erik's lips caressed his, and he opened his mouth, letting his boyfriend's curious tongue slip inside, starting to investigate every corner of his mouth, all the sweetest spots of it. His boyfriend was a master in kissing, even though he had been quite a greenhorn when they had gotten together, Erik had learned quickly and now, he made Marco's knees buckle just with his tongue battling with his own tongue.

He took a hold of Erik's arms and started to push him towards the stairs, never breaking the kiss until they reached the first step and had to part. They ran up the stairs, impatiently, and once they had reached the second floor, Marco took Erik's hand and guided him through the hallway to the bedroom, the bedroom where they'd hopefully spend so many wonderful moments.

The bedroom was quite big, and the bed was made. This was the part where Marco had needed Marcel's help, and luckily, his best friend had agreed to help him. Marco had always hoped that after he had presented Erik the idea of their new home, the situation would escalate to them being more intimate and that's why he had initially wanted to make the bedroom look like a proper bedroom before bringing Erik there.  
Erik's face lit up again when he saw the bedroom, and he mumbled something like 'perfect', before he turned to Marco and kissed him, with the same intensity like he had downstairs. Marco felt a jolt of electricity going down his body, stimulated by Erik's kissing, reaching his groin in record time, and making a low growl escape his mouth. He wantonly pushed Erik towards the bed, starting to rip off his jacket and his shirt, wanting to see his boyfriend's naked body as soon as possible.

After he had basically thrown Erik onto the bed, he hastily took off his own jacket and shirt in front of Erik's needy eyes and the looks he was giving Marco, making Marco even more needy than what he already was. He groaned another time when he heard Erik's pleased sigh as he took off his pants and threw them somewhere in the room, leaving him only in his boxers as he crawled on top of Erik who was lying on the bed in his boxers, having removed his own pants somewhere during the time it had taken Marco to undress himself.

Marco nearly collapsed on Erik's body, moaning as he felt almost every inch of body contact with Erik's skin, getting goosebumps despite his boyfriend's body warmth. Erik put his arms and legs around his, his lips feverishly looking for Marco's until he found them, again burying his tongue deep down Marco's throat. Marco felt Erik's strong hands around his torso, and his boyfriend's equally strong legs around his waist, pressing them together and Marco simply couldn't help the needy sounds he moaned into Erik's mouth.

He started to grind his hips involuntary, feeling his hard member rubbing against Erik's hard manhood, making drops of pre-come leak out of the tip, driving Marco insane with his lust. He needed to feel Erik closer, now.

Erik let out a sad sigh when Marco let go out his well-kissed mouth and started to move downwards, reaching to the floor where his jacket was lying to get the small tube of lube he had secretly been carrying with him. Erik's impression turned from a frustrated one to a happy one when he understood Marco's intention, and he lay down on his back, relaxing himself.

Marco however had other plans, he was determined to make Erik feel ecstatic so he pulled down Erik's briefs, leaving him naked in front of him. Marco drank in the sight of his aroused boyfriend, loving every inch of his body and making Erik know it by mumbling and almost inaudible 'gorgeous'.

Marco opened the bottle of lube and poured some of the cool liquid on his fingers, not wanting to waist anymore time, as he started to suck Erik off, while he gently started to open him up with his other hand.

Erik let out the most needy and beautiful sounds as he reacted to Marco's caresses, being thrown into ecstasy by the double sensation Marco was giving him. Marco used all his skills as he licked Erik's cock, occasionally swallowing and humming around it, making Erik throw his head back to the pillows. Marco wasn't sure if Erik even sensed him pushing in the first finger, or if he did, he didn't react at all, instead he only kept moaning and gasping, gently pulling Marco's hair with his other hand.

Eventually Marco had been able to make his way up to four fingers buried in Erik's hole before he pulled his fingers out and raised himself up, getting a condom somewhere from the pile of clothes on the floor. He lined himself up quickly, not sure how long he would last. Erik's moaning and gasping had made it hard for him to focus on his task to pleasure Erik, his own cock standing proudly against his stomach, pulsing and leaking pre-come, informing Marco that it needed to be touched.

Marco groaned as Erik spread his legs and made space for Marco, stuffing a pillow below his hips to make the angle better. "You ready?" Marco asked, just to be sure.  
"I was ready minutes ago, just get inside me already!" Erik whined, making Marco sure that he was ready by again entangling his legs around Marco's hips, almost forcing Marco inside of him.

Marco's hard spear sank into Erik easily, not having a lot of resistance. Erik threw his head back again and moaned a long 'Marcoooo' as he put his hands on Marco's chest. Marco couldn't stand it anymore, he started to thrust in and out, firstly slowly, but quickly gaining speed as Erik's moans grew loader and his reactions got more intense.

Erik's eyes shone like pure gold as he gazed up to Marco, who bit his lips, trying to concentrate on getting the right rhythm. "So good Marco, so freaking good..." Erik whispered, and that was all it took for Marco to lose it.

He gave up all his attempts to build a proper rhythm, just starting to thrust in and out of Erik in a rapid phase, sweat starting to drop down his forehead and back. Erik put his arms around him and pulled him closer, so that Erik's cock was trapped between their stomachs, boosting Erik's pleasure to even further heights.  
"Yes, Marco, oh God, yes!" Erik nearly screamed, and in that moment Marco lost his battle. "Oh God, yes, oh God Erik!" He screamed as he came, shooting his seed to the condom, not stopping to bury himself inside of Erik, who moaned.

"Marco!" Erik shouted as he came, his legs shaking around Marco's hips as Marco slowed down his pace, slowly starting to calm down and come down from his high.

They both just lay there, still in their post-orgasmic bliss, exchanging a few sweet kisses with smiled on their faces.  
Marco could have stayed like that forever, if it hadn't been for the tight knot building in his stomach, the tight knot that reminded him of what he would still ask Erik tonight.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading, and for the authors who wrote the works which insipired me to write this :-)

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [The Wind In Our Hair And The Love In Your Eyes](https://archiveofourown.org/works/3907036) by [Blue_Night](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Blue_Night/pseuds/Blue_Night)




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